


Moving on after the circus

by LouisaHalikiopoulou



Category: The Durrells (TV), The Durrells of Corfu
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-17
Updated: 2020-01-25
Packaged: 2020-09-08 02:54:20
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 44
Words: 290,208
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20287657
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LouisaHalikiopoulou/pseuds/LouisaHalikiopoulou
Summary: After the dream-like day at the circus and the heartbreak on the following day, Louisa re-organizes her life and unsuccessfully tries to forget her love for SpirosEssentially an alternative Season 4.





	1. Living on after the heartbreak

**Author's Note:**

> When season 3 ended last year I wrote a continuation that would bring Louisa and Spiros together.
> 
> I wrote in a style that was almost TV script-ready, with very little, if any, introspection and lots of dialogue. The descriptions are also TV script-style. So not very detailed. And the various parts are in bullet points.
> 
> Well, see what you think...

  * Mid-May 1938. British guests are staying at the house – Spiros is often around, helping out, setting up their bedrooms in the attic, driving them places, planning fun activities, etc. “the beds are all set up Mrs. Durrell”, “excellent, thank you, Spiro”, “I have built that new night table, Mrs. Durrell”, “thank you, Spiro”, “I will be back tomorrow to pick up your guests and drive them for a tour of the island, Mrs. Durrell”, “thank you, Spiro”. They act as if they were just friends, but there are those long longing gazes they exchange, when they think nobody is watching…
  * …and there is that detail that her children and Spiros have noticed; Margo approaches Larry who is sitting on a bench by the retention wall over the sea. She sits next to him. They are quiet for a while, both watching their mother and Spiros talk about the guests’ next visit on the island. Margot sighs: “it is so heartbreaking to watch them together”, “yea, they are really struggling to re-find the beautiful friendship they used to share”, “they can’t be just friends. They are too in love”, he nods: “I know, it’s such a pity that they can’t be together”, “have you noticed that since that day at the circus mother has not been wearing her wedding ring anymore?”, “yea, she has taken it off for the first time since father’s death more than 10 years ago”. They sigh. They both know why… 

  * One of the guests, Brenda Adams, witnesses some of those gazes and guesses that Spiros and Louisa are in love: “Louisa, I see that Spiros is often here”, Louisa smiles: “yes Brenda, he is always very helpful. A very good friend of my family. Without him we would not have survived our first period on this lovely island”. Brenda does not buy the ‘family friend’ explanation. She knows that there is more than just friendship between those two. She figures that they are just being too ‘shy’ and she decides to _help_. 
  * One evening Brenda makes them both drink a lot: “here, have one more. This kumquat liqueur that I have purchased at the market is really good”, and steers Spiros to sit on the sofa next to a drunk Louisa: “please take a seat here, Spiro, next to our wonderful hostess”, then she plays an act-the-truth game. Everyone plays along, taking turns: “if you are English raise your left arm”, “if you hate Hitler, raise both arms”, “If you are Greek raise your right arm”, “If you love Indian food touch your nose”, “If you love this island raise both arms and touch your knees”, etc. until it’s Brenda’s turn: “If you are in love with the person sitting next to you, kiss them now”. Brenda kisses her husband Jim. Spiros and Louisa turn towards each other and kiss lightly. Then they gaze into each other’s eyes, deeply, and kiss a second time, much, much, more decisively.
  * Brenda makes a rather triumphant smile. She knew it. Larry, Leslie, Gerry, and Margot look at each other… they are not surprised, they have known it for a long time, but they don’t know where this is going, Spiros being a married man.
  * Louisa gets up, holding herself onto the sofa’s back. Looking at Spiros and the others, she is clearly embarrassed: “sorry… I have drunk too much and now I am acting silly. I’d better go to bed”. She tries to walk, but she is rather unstable on her legs. She almost falls back on the sofa. Spiros stretches his arm and holds her elbow: “let me help you, Louisa”. He gets up and helps her to her bedroom, closing the door behind them. The Durrell children look at each other again. Is that OK?
  * Spiros helps Louisa to her bed. She sits on it. He sits next to her and they kiss, then he looks into her eyes and speaks with very sweet voice: “good night Louisa, have sweet dreams”, they look at each other with really loving eyes. She answers sounding drunk/sleepy: “good night, Spiro”, then she hugs him and pulls him towards her. They kiss again. He caresses her face and whispers with very sweet voice: “I’d better leave now, Louisa, we are too drunk for this”, then he gets up and walks to the door.
  * In that moment, Larry knocks on the door: “sorry, I just thought I’d remind you that mother is really drunk and you probably don’t want to do anything you’d regret later”, opening the bedroom door to exit Spiros makes a tight smile: “I know… don’t worry, Larry, I was leaving”.

  * The next morning Spiros goes to the house. They are alone in the kitchen, both looking embarrassed. “Louisa… about last night… I had had too much to drink”, “I know, I was drunk too… thank you for not taking advantage of that”, she smiles at him. A sad smile: “you could have, you know, easily…”, “I know…”, he stares into her eyes and continues: “you know me. I wouldn’t”, they look at each other very lovingly, “and Larry wouldn’t have let me anyway…”, they smile sweetly, then he looks serious again: “my wife doesn’t know. I haven’t told her. I don’t know what to do. I am scared that she may take my children away again. I feel caught between a rock and a hard place. I feel so thorn…”. She answers with sad low voice: “I know, I can see that and I do understand. We’d better forget what happened last night and… at the circus, Spiro”. When he replies, his voice is sad too: “yes, we’d better, Mrs. Durrell”. The way they look at each other with really teary eyes… they are obviously both heartbroken.

  * Having witnessed first-hand that Louisa and Spiros are, indeed, in love, Brenda continues with her ‘facilitating’ strategy. Every day, multiple times a day, she arranges for Spiros to drive to the house. She uses various excuses to have him take her places. Then she does her best to involve Louisa: “Louisa, Spiro is driving me to town. Why don’t you come with us? You can help me choose a dress I like”, “of course Brenda”. A few hours later: “Louisa, Spiro is back. This time he is driving me to the British consul. I need to sort some paperwork. Would you please come with me? I’d need help deciphering the bureaucratic language”, “of course, Brenda, happy to help”, the next day: “Louisa, Spiro is driving me to the market, why don’t you join us?”, “yes, I need to buy food for lunch, thank you Brenda”. Then once they are in town, Brenda always finds a way to ‘get lost’ and leave Louisa and Spiros alone.
  * They know why she is doing that. They are sitting on a bench in the town’s square, Louisa’s basket in between them. Both look sad and both have sad voices as they talk. Louisa sighs: “Brenda is being really pushy”, “I know, she doesn’t know we can’t be a couple”, “maybe you should mention your family in the conversation so that she stops creating these opportunities for us to be alone”, he answers with low sad voice: “maybe I should, but I’d miss these moments with you, Louisa”, her voice is broken now: “me too, as painful as they may be…”. They look at each other very, very, lovingly, with really sad, yet very sweet, smiles. People are watching them and wonder…
  * In that moment Spiro’s wife, Dimitra, walks by, along the other side of the square, carrying a basket and holding hands with their young daughter. She sees Spiros and Louisa sitting on the bench, staring at each other across from Louisa’s basket. She makes a sad, yet sweet, smile. She keeps walking towards their house, away from the square. Neither Spiros nor Louisa see her. Many people do, though, and look perplexed.

  * Meanwhile, as her vacation is coming to an end, Brenda organizes a picnic for all of the house guests. Louisa and Lugaretzia prepare the food, pack it into large baskets, then Spiros drives them to the docks. They all take a boat to a beautiful beach on the nearby small island of Pondikonissi. Before lunch the guests all go for a swim. Louisa sits on a large rock. Spiros sits next to her: “I think someone has told my wife Dimitra about the two of us… at the circus. She alluded to it yesterday. I haven’t had a chance to talk to her about it, though…”, “oh”, he looks deeply into her eyes, then with sad voice he whispers: “…I love you, Louisa, you know that...”, at first, she says nothing, she just looks at him. Her eyes say: “me too”, but then her very sad voice instead says: “Spiro, before you tell me that, you need to sort your current family obligations. You can’t keep leading me on like this. It’s too painful”. Her voice is broken. She is crying quietly. He has to resist the temptation to hug and kiss her right now. He looks at her with very sad eyes. His voice is broken too: “you are right. I am being very selfish. I am really sorry, Louisa. I’ve never meant to hurt you…”. He gets up and walks away from her: “I’d better avoid temptations, Mrs. Durrell”. Louisa nods, but she looks really sad. She stops crying and wipes her tears with her handkerchief. He looks at her, very, very, sad. His eyes full of tears too. They smile as they look at the guests enjoying their swim. Sad smiles.

  * That night, like every night since that day at the circus, Louisa sobs in her bed. She does not know that Larry, in the bedroom adjacent to hers, can hear her. Larry, looking sad murmurs to himself: “there she goes, again…”. Today he decides to get up and go to her room, “mother…”, he sits on her bed, she sits up, still crying. He hugs her: “it’s Spiro, isn’t it?”, she sobs on his shoulder: “yes…”. He hugs her until she calms down. Then he leans her down and kisses her cheek: “good night, mother”.

  * End of May: the next day the guests leave for their long trip back to England. Spiros picks them up at the house, loads their baggage and drives them to the docks to catch the evening ferry to Brindisi. Brenda says her goodbyes: “thank you very much for all of your help, Spiro. You and Louisa have been marvelous hosts. Please take good care of her”, she winks. He kisses her hand and nods: “I will, Mrs. Adams, I promise. Have a safe trip and don’t forget to write!”


	2. Finally together

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Well, it had to happen. Spiros and Louisa can finally be together. And they are very happy...

  * Wed, June 1st. The next morning Spiros goes to the house. Without house guests, all is quiet today. Only Louisa and Larry are there. Margot and Leslie are at work and Gerry is at his tutor’s, Mr. Harry Kralefsky, for private lessons. Larry is working in his room.
  * When she sees Spiros, Louisa forces a smile: “hello Spiro” “hello Mrs. Durrell, I have come to finally finish those shelves” “thank you”. Louisa looks sad. She goes upstairs. Spiros looks sad too. He looks at her walk away, then he starts working at the shelves in the kitchen.
  * A few minutes later Larry approaches Spiros: “Spiro… I need to have a word with you”, “of course, Larry”, “unless you can sort your situation with your wife, I must ask that you leave now and stop coming to the house. I am quite worried about mother. She is really, really, hurt. Since that day at the circus she has been very sad. I hear her cry herself to sleep every night. And when you are here, she is even sadder. Even right now, she is crying in her bedroom.”
  * Spiros looks visibly upset, with teary eyes he mutters: “I am such an idiot”. He walks upstairs to her bedroom. He knocks on the closed door and slowly opens it. Louisa is sitting on the side of her bed, leaning on her knees, her forehead on her hands. She is crying. He speaks with soft voice: “may I come in, Louisa? I’d like to talk to you”. She looks up at him, her eyes full of tears. She nods. Spiros walks in. Larry is standing behind him. “May I sit down, Louisa?”. She nods. Spiros sits on the bed next to her. Larry goes downstairs, leaving the door open.
  * Spiros is sitting next to Louisa. Looking at her with sweet eyes. She is looking at him. Her eyes still teary, he speaks her name with very loving voice: “Louisa, when I went home last night I told my wife that I can’t be with her anymore because I love you”, he looks at her very, very, lovingly: “then I left her. I have spent the night in my car. I am not going back. I can’t pretend anymore. I want to be with you”. She is looking at him with sweet teary eyes. He slowly leans towards her and reaches for her lips. They kiss, softly. He takes his handkerchief out of his pocket and wipes the tears from her eyes and cheeks, looking at her very lovingly. He wraps his arms around her and pulls her to him. She hugs him back, then they kiss, and kiss, and kiss….
  * Larry goes back upstairs. He sees them kissing through the open door. He smiles sweetly and whispers to himself: “finally”. Spiros and Louisa hear his steps and stop kissing. They turn and look at him smiling, still hugging each other. Uncharacteristically, Larry sounds embarrassed: “sorry… I will be working outside on the veranda at the back of the house, but I need my typewriter”. Larry picks up the typewriter in his bedroom. As he is going back downstairs, he sees his mother and Spiros kissing again. He smiles.
  * Spiros and Louisa continue kissing. The kisses become more passionate and sensual. His tongue reaches her lips. She lets him do it, allowing his tongue to open her mouth and explore it. Spiros hugs her more and more tightly. He begins touching her body through her clothes… her thighs, her breast… she does not stop him. She returns his sensual kisses and she hugs him tightly too, touching his muscled torso through his shirt.
  * Larry returns upstairs. They hear him but they keep kissing. Still sounding embarrassed he mumbles: “sorry again, I need typing paper now…. but, why don’t I just… give you privacy…”. He closes the door to Louisa’s bedroom, grabs the typing paper from his bedroom, and returns to the veranda, making one of his Larry-typical smirks.
  * Spiros continues kissing and touching Louisa, becoming more and more daring. He unbuttons her blouse and touches her breasts, his hand brushing under her bra. Then he kisses her cleavage and murmurs: “you are so beautiful…”. While kissing her more and more passionately, he leans her back on the bed and pulls up her skirt. He starts touching her legs, the inside of her thighs… She moans and returns his sensual kisses.
  * “Louisa, my love, if this feels too rushed, you can stop me. Any time”.
  * Louisa, smiles sweetly: “don’t stop…”. He continues. He begins removing her clothes. He reaches with his hands under her blouse and gently caresses her back. She moans softly. He reaches for her bra’s hooks and undoes them. He removes her blouse and bra and continues kissing her body. Her neck, her breasts, her nipples, her abdomen. She undoes his shirt’s buttons and drops his suspenders. She pushes his shirt off him and pulls his tank top above his head. She begins stroking his naked torso. Then he undoes her skirt’s button and pulls it down. She lifts her hips to facilitate that. He opens her legs and kisses the inside of her thighs, closer and closer to her sex, touching her through her knickers. She is moaning. Then she reaches for his trousers’ button and she undoes it. She pushes his trousers down. He has an obvious erection, holding his underwear up in a little tent. They undress completely, removing each other’s underwear. They are both naked now, laying on the bed. He keeps kissing and touching her and begins stimulating her with his fingers. She responds with deeper and deeper moans, her arms around him, her hands caressing his naked body. After a while he approaches her for penetration.
  * She whispers: “Spiro….”, he answers with very sweet voice: “stop? I will, if that’s what you want, Louisa…”, she looks into his eyes with a sweet smile and answers with soft voice: “no, don’t stop, but please be gentle, it’s been a very long time”. Spiros smiles sweetly and kisses her lips softly: “even for me”, he goes back to stimulate her with his fingers until he thinks she is ready. Then he gently opens her legs and slowly enters her. He looks at her very sweetly and speaks softly, with loving voice: “are you okay, my love?”, she whispers: “yes…”, he begins to gently move on her. She moans and has a small orgasm right away (it has been a really long time!). Then she speaks with soft voice: “Spiro… you can come inside of me… I won’t get pregnant”. He smiles sweetly and continues moving slowly, then speaks with sweet voice: “close your eyes, my love, relax, be mine”. She closes her eyes as he continues moving slowly. She starts moaning. He begins thrusting more deeply into her. She moans more. He accelerates his rhythm, thrusting deeper and deeper. She keeps moaning and follows his movements with her pelvis. She is quiet in her lovemaking, but she does not hide her sensations. He can clearly see her pleasure mounting. He holds his own pleasure back until they reach climax together. Then they lay on the bed hugging, him on top, still inside of her, gently holding himself on his elbows to avoid crushing her with his weight.
  * She opens her eyes, looks at him, and makes a very sweet smile. Spiros gently moves her hair off her face and kisses her lips tenderly, then with very loving voice, looking into her eyes he whispers: “I love you”, she answers with very loving voice too, looking back at him: “I love you too”. They kiss softly. Spiros smiles sweetly: “that was so magical. We came together. Most couples rarely experience that”, she smiles at him lovingly: “yes it was so… perfect…”, they kiss again, tenderly, then, he makes a naughty smile: “thank you for the compliment, I take _perfect_ any time”, they laugh and kiss, smiling sweetly: “yes, you were very generous and caring, waiting for me”, “of course! I wanted you to be with me all the way, my love” he kisses her softly, she smiles sweetly, looking at him with her eyes full of love, he gives her another loving kiss, then he continues: “but it’s thanks to you that I could do that. You were so open to me, not holding anything back. I could see your pleasure so well, I could time myself to it and make it _perfect_”.
  * They hug and kiss, sweetly, for some time. Then the kisses become more sensual again. Spiros smiles: “oh, he’s coming back to life”, she smiles too: “I can feel you harden inside of me. I like that”. They both smile sweetly. He wraps his arms around her back and gently pulls her up, while still in her. They sit straight up hugging and kissing each other sweetly. She is sitting on top of him, her arms around his neck, her legs bent behind his back. His legs are folded and open (in what some call the lotus position). He holds her in his arms, kissing her, her breast, her neck… Now she is more in control. She moves slowly at first, then more deliberately, until they come together again. Afterwards, he gently leans her on the bed, while exiting her. They lay quietly for a while, him on his back, slightly turned towards her, hugging her, her leaning with her head in the crook of his neck, hugging his chest.
  * He kisses her hair sweetly, then with loving voice he whispers: “perfect again?”. She laughs softly: “yes…”. With sweet voice, he whispers: “I love you, Louisa… this was such a long time coming”. She answers very sweetly: “yes, a long time… I love you too…”. She raises her head towards him. They kiss, then, he speaks lovingly: “I’ve been in love with you for years, but I was suppressing my feelings because of my family. Now I can’t hide them anymore. I just can’t help loving you”, she answers softly: “me too, years… I really tried to make myself stop loving you… I just couldn’t… I love you too much”. They kiss, and kiss, and kiss...

  * Eventually they go to the bathroom and wash each other, laughing quietly, hugging, and kissing. They are now on the other side of the house. Larry can hear the sound of their voices from the veranda. He looks up, towards the open bathroom window. He smiles. 
  * They fill the bathtub with warm water and sit in it together. As he washes her, Spiros notices a scar on Louisa’s lower abdomen, he gently touches it with his finger, “after my last baby delivery I was bleeding so much that I almost died. The doctors had to intervene urgently and remove my uterus. That’s why I can’t get pregnant anymore”. He smiles sweetly, hugs her, and kisses her very gently, then he whispers: “I am so sorry you have risked your life, my love”, then he smiles lovingly: “it does make for _perfect _lovemaking, now…”. They both giggle sweetly and hug and kiss, again and again… “oh… he is back”, she touches his erection, smiling sweetly _and_ naughtily: “we may have to do something about it”. They kiss passionately, then he starts touching her again and stimulating her with his fingers while she slowly moves her hand on his erection. Then he picks her up and has her straddle him. He enters her while holding her up, then she sits and rides him slowly. As they hug, he kisses her, her breasts, her neck. They make love again, very quietly. They know that Larry is on the veranda, under the bathroom window…

  * Once they are dressed, Spiros goes to the kitchen. He returns upstairs with a naughty smile. He has a little cup and a cloth. She looks intrigued: “what is that for?”, “I am going to oil the link springs of your bed, my love. They are squeaky”, she smiles, looking at him sweetly: “so they are. I had never noticed that, well at least not before the use we made of it today”. They both giggle and smile at each other lovingly. They hug and kiss.

  * Louisa and Spiros exit the house through the back door, where Larry is typing away. He smirks with a teasing expression: “oh, hello there”, Spiros smiles: “hello”, Louisa, blushes: “hello”, Spiros is blushed too: “we are going for a walk”, Larry smirks: “very good, enjoy!”
  * Spiros and Louisa walk away. He puts his arm around her shoulders. She leans towards him, her arm around his lower back. Larry notices that and smiles.
  * As they walk away Spiros utters: “gosh I love you so much”, she smiles sweetly: “me too”. They stroll along the path. Now out of sight of the house, they stop, hug and kiss, many times.
  * They are standing in the path. Hugging. He looks at her with his eyes full of love: “right now, I am the happiest man on earth”. Louisa, smiles sweetly: “that sounds like a Greek exaggeration…”, they kiss, then they continue walking. With sweet voice, she whispers: “and I am the happiest woman on earth”, “it seems you have become more Greek than you like to admit”, she smiles. They stop and hug and kiss again. “po po po, Louisa mou, pos s’agapao”, “kai ego, s’agapo’ poly’, Spiro”. They kiss. “see? Your Greek is pretty good”, “not that good but I do know s’agapo’. My children have been dating Greek girls”. They smile sweetly and kiss again. They continue walking along the path in the woods at the back of the house, their arms around each other’s lower backs as they walk.

(trnsl: po po po: an exclamation; mou = my; pos s’agapao = I love you so much; me too, I love you very much; s’agapo’ = I love you)

  * They stop, Spiros lays his Jacket on a large rock. They sit on it. They kiss, then Louisa, looks serious: “what happens now?”, he smiles sweetly, “right now? I will kiss you again”, she smiles, they kiss, “you know what I mean. What’s the situation with your wife?”, “I can’t say. We did not talk much last night. I told her about you, then I left the house. She did not seem too upset. Maybe she expected it”, “what about your children?”, “they were in bed when I left. I don’t know what she has told them”, “what about me and you, do we have a future together?”, he looks at her sweetly; “we must. I love you. I want to be with you. I can’t tell you exactly what it will look like right now, but I can’t see any future without you, Louisa”, he reaches for her lips and they kiss again, “what if your wife moves back to Athens with the children?”, “then I will have to take frequent trips to Athens to see them. Maybe you can go with me sometimes. Athens is a beautiful city. I’d love to show it to you”, she smiles at him sweetly: “and I’d love to see it with you”. They kiss again, many times.
  * After quite some time, Louisa smiles sweetly at him: “we should go back. The children should be returning home any time now”. As they walk back, they stop periodically to hug and kiss. What they have unleashed today is a very powerful love. It’s clearly here to stay.

  * Leslie, Margot, and Gerry return home and find Larry on the veranda. Margot approaches him: “where’s mother?”, he smirks: “on a romantic walk with Spiro. There were some pretty dramatic developments today. They have spent a good part of the morning in her bedroom and now they are out”. Leslie smiles: “finally…”, Margot smiles too: “yes indeed, finally, but… Spiro is married with children. How is this going to work out?”, Larry looks serious now: “I don’t know, but I hope it will. They are very in love. They have been for a long time”. Gerry nods: “yes they are, in love… so this is good, I guess…” He seems unsure, though.

  * Now in sight of the house, Louisa sees her children: “there they are, talking to Larry, I am sure they know by now”. She blushes and steps away from Spiros who has his arm around her shoulders. Spiros stops, turns towards her, looks at her sweetly, gently pulls her towards him, wraps his arms around her, and kisses her. The children see that. 
  * Larry smiles: “told you….”. They all smile.
  * Louisa whispers: “oh”, blushes and makes a weak attempt to free herself from Spiros’ hug. He looks at her sweetly: “why are you pushing away, Louisa? Are you ashamed of me?” “of course not! I am just embarrassed… my children are watching…”. He smiles at her sweetly: “why embarrassed? We love each other. Your children know it”. She answers with low voice: “yes, but I am still their mother and I can’t help feeling embarrassed”, “your children are not embarrassed to hug and kiss their girlfriends and boyfriends in front of you”, she nods: “I know, when I found myself raising 4 children alone, I deliberately raised them to feel they could express themselves with me. I wanted them to tell me anything, even the kind of private things boys would normally tell their father, not their mother. Now they do, and I am happy about that, even when the things they say or do are embarrassing to me, because I was raised differently”. he smiles at her sweetly: “you are such a wonderful mother, Louisa. I really think you ought to be more relaxed with your children, the way they are with you. We are doing nothing wrong”, she smiles at him: “you are right, Spiro, we are doing nothing wrong”, still holding her in his arms, he looks at her with loving eyes: “I love you”, she answers sweetly: “and I love you”. She blushes as they kiss again, knowing her children are still watching.
  * Margot smiles: “there they go again. Sooo sweet!”. Larry smiles too: “yes, finally”.
  * Louisa and Spiros approach them, their arms around each other’s backs, “hello”. The Durrell children reply: “hello”. They all smile and none of the children comments on the two of them. Louisa, looks relieved about it, but is still blushed and sounds embarrassed: “well, it’s time to prepare some dinner, you must be hungry” (it’s mid-afternoon by now). Spiros smiles: “then I should leave you all to it”, Margot smiles at him: “why don’t you have dinner with us Spiro?”, he looks at Louisa. She blushes looking back at him, smiling: “of course, I don’t see why not, Spiro…”, he smiles at her sweetly: “then I’ll help you prepare it, Louisa”. They walk into the house together. The children remain seated around the veranda table for a while. They don’t talk. They all look like they are in deep thoughts.
  * After a while, Margot smirks: “well, we should at least lay the table” They all smile and get up. Louisa and Spiros are standing next to each other (very close, unnecessarily so, as the kitchen counter is long), giving each other loving looks while chopping vegetables. Spiros is very good. Very fast. He looks rather professional. He notices the children watching him: “in Chicago I worked in a restaurant for several months and I learned some of the tricks of the profession from the cook”. Spiros and Louisa continue preparing dinner while the children set up the table of the veranda.
  * During dinner, Spiros looks at Louisa very sweetly: “this curried food is excellent, Louisa”, she looks back at him and blushes: “thanks, I was born in India after all”. Larry smiles: “so were we all”. Louisa nods: “yes, and we like Indian food. We find traditional British food very bland”. Spiros laughs: “who doesn’t? The Britons are wonderful people but their food is really tasteless”. They all laugh, “this Indian food, instead, is really tasty. Next time I will make Greek food”. Spiros and Louisa smile at each other very lovingly. The Durrell children notice that and smile sweetly. After dinner, they all clear the table and put the dirty dishes in the sink.

  * Larry winks at his siblings: “very well brothers and sister, time for a long walk, to digest this excellent meal”. The siblings all leave the house. As they are leaving, Larry lags behind and approaches Spiros with complicit attitude. He smirks and whispers: “you have the house to yourself for at least 2 hours, you have my word”, Spiros smiles: “thank you, Larry”. Larry leaves. Louisa has noticed the scene and approaches Spiros: “what was that about?”, he laughs: “your son is giving us privacy again, 2 hours, apparently”, they hug, he smiles sweetly: “…and unless you tell me otherwise, Louisa, I intend to take advantage of that”. She smiles sweetly too: “mm, I like your plan, Spiro”, she gives him a long sensual kiss, grabs his hand, and leads him upstairs, to her bedroom… 

  * The sun is low, the Durrell siblings are a few kilometers from the house, sitting on rocks, under the trees, watching over the beautiful Corfu coastline from the top of the cliff. Gerry yawns: “how long should we be sitting here?”, Larry replies: “at least another hour. We don’t want to walk in on them, do we?”, Leslie makes a funny face: “most certainly not. I couldn’t bear the sight”. They all laugh. Gerry complains: “but I am sleepy…”. Margot, reaches towards him with her arm: “here”. Gerry lays down with his head in her lap and dozes off. Leslie looks at his siblings: “well, our lives are bound to change a lot now, aren’t they?”, Margot smiles: “not really, Spiro has already been spending lots of time at our house. And at least he won’t ask mom to move us all back to England, like Hugh. We can stay in Corfu’”, Larry nods: “I am sure mother will be much happier. More relaxed. Spiro is the right man for her. They have been friends for a long time and they get along very nicely. I think the change will be for the better, for all of us”.
  * Margot nods: “I like Spiro. Mother’s best choice of a man so far”, Leslie makes a tight smile: “after dad…”, Larry smiles: “I haven’t seen her that happy since then”, Margot is watching her brother: “you remember daddy very well, don’t you?”, Larry nods: “I do. Mother and father were very happy. Very in love. They were always together. We would travel to the most remote areas of India, following him on his various job sites. Most other English wives would just wait with their children in a nice villa in a city. Instead, mother and father would not stay apart. Sometimes we camped out in the jungle for months, just so that they could be together… and make babies at regular intervals”, they all smile, Margot wipes a tear: “very sweet and so very sad. I can’t imagine what it must have been like to lose such a big love”, Larry nods: “yea, mother took it very, very, hard. She has not been the same person since father’s death. It took 10 years before she found the same big love in her life again. Now she is finally happy again”. They all sigh, yes finally.

  * After making love again, repeatedly, Louisa and Spiros lay in bed, hugging. They fall asleep.

  * It’s evening. The sun has just set behind the mountains. After a long walk the children are approaching the house. Margot is walking ahead of the others: “Spiro’s car is still here”. Larry smiles: “let me go in first, quietly, to make sure the place is suitable for minors”. They all giggle. After a few minutes, he returns outside: “it’s all quiet, but I hear a man snoring in mother’s bedroom”. Margot smiles: “oh, they fell asleep… how sweet!”. Leslie smirks: “let’s go to bed quietly, then, so that we don’t wake them up”. As they tiptoe into the house they notice that the pile of dirty dishes is still in the sink. Nothing has been done. They smile/giggle quietly.


	3. Day 2 of a new life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The next day - the beginning of a new life. The children's response. Spiros' wife.  
And Louisa's fears and insecurities...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this continues the TV script style. with relatively little descriptions. Leaving it to the reader's imagination.
> 
> In writing this I envisioned Alexis Georgoulis and Keeley Hawes as the actors. So the various facial expressions in my mind are those of these two good actors. I personally really like Keeley Hawes' acting. I find her expressivity one of the best on TV these days. So, you need to picture her as you read my writing. :-)

  * The next morning, Spiros is lying on his back quietly, awake. Louisa is still sleeping, hugging his chest. He has his arms around her, in a loving hug. They are naked, partly covered by a sheet. She wakes up. Spiros, kisses her hair, then with very sweet voice he whispers: “good morning, my love”, she sounds sleepy and surprised: “morning? Oh my God, we fell asleep and you’ve spent the night here!”, he kisses her hair again: “so I have, is that bad?”, he gently lifts her head towards him and they kiss, “well, I was hoping we could ease my children into such a development”, he smiles at her sweetly: “I am sure they will be fine. Your children are old enough. They know what’s going on”, “I know, but I am worried about Gerry. He is still very young and he seemed unsure yesterday”, Spiros, smiles: “he will need reassurance that his mom still loves him. Maybe a little chat…”.
  * He kisses her again, holding her in his arms. She kisses him. He smiles at her sweetly: “you may be upset that I am still here, Louisa, but to me this is a dream come true, literally. I wanted you so badly in the past few months, that I have often dreamt of this very moment, when I’d wake up here, holding you in my arms, after a night of lovemaking”, she looks at him very sweetly: “me too, Spiro. I have had this dream many times. I am not upset that you are here. I am very happy, really”, he looks at her very lovingly: “so we are living a dream right now”, she answers with soft and loving voice: “I do feel like I am living a dream… and I hope I will never wake up”, he speaks with sweet voice: “me too, I want to be in this dream for as long as I live, my love”. They kiss, softly at first, then more sensually. They kiss and touch each other for a while, then they make love. Afterwards, they lay in bed, hugging and kissing tenderly for quite some time, “I love you so much, Louisa”, “kai ego, s’agapo’ poly’, Spiro”

(trnsl: me too, I love you very much, Spiro).

  * The children are up, making breakfast. Larry smiles: “all is still quiet upstairs”, Leslie makes a silly smirk: “well they would need lots of rest after all that ‘exercise’…”, they all laugh, Larry nods: “finally”, Margot smiles: “yes, finally. This is all very sweet, really. I am happy for mother”, Leslie nods: “me too”, Gerry, sounds a bit hesitant: “yes, it’s good…”, Margot hugs him: “it _is_ good, baby brother. Mother deserves her happiness too”, Gerry makes a tight smile: “I know, I am happy for her”, and pushes her hug away, “and don’t call me ‘baby’, Margot. Mother always doing that is bad enough!”. They all laugh.
  * Louisa and Spiros finally get up and go to the bathroom together. They find a fresh robe and clean man underwear, with a note: ‘_For Spiro, hope we wear the same size. Feel free to use my shaving set, on the left of the sink, Larry_’ and a second note, right next to the first ‘_or mine, on the right of the sink, Leslie_’. They laugh quietly, then wash each other in the bathtub, while kissing and hugging, and smiling sweetly at each other. Then he shaves while she does her hair.
  * Margot smiles: “they are up. I’ve heard their voices. I think they are in the bathroom”, Larry nods: “then they should have found our notes”, Margot smiles: “I saw them. Nice idea brothers”, Larry nods: “I figured it’d make a good ‘_welcome to our home and to our family_’ message”, Leslie makes a silly smirk: “yes, and a ‘_we know what you were up to_’ message”. They all laugh. Gerry is still a bit unsure, but he laughs too.
  * Back to Louisa’s room they get dressed, “your son’s underwear fits me just fine”, “now that’s information I did not think I’d ever learn”, they laugh, he hugs and kisses her then he whispers: “so this was not part of your dreams?”, she giggles: “not really, why, was it in yours?”, he laughs sweetly: “it wasn’t but I am liking the idea. It’s very naughty”, she giggles sweetly: “it is!”, he looks at her with a sensual gaze: “well, the naughtiness _was_ in my dreams”, she blushes: “and in mine…”. They kiss. A long kiss. He begins touching her body through her clothes. She whispers: “behave yourself, Spiro, we should be joining the children for breakfast, now”. As they exit her bedroom, Louisa blushes: “oh, this is going to be so embarrassing…”, Spiros hugs and kisses her lovingly: “we will just have to face it now, love. It won’t be that bad”. They go downstairs together, Louisa first, Spiros behind her. The children are sitting around the kitchen table, having breakfast.

  * Margot sees them walk in: “good morning!”, Larry smirks: “good morning, lovebirds”. They all giggle and look at them with teasing expression, Louisa, is very blushed and sounds very embarrassed: “sorry, we fell asleep…”, Leslie giggles: “yea, we’ve noticed…”. Larry smiles: “excellent!”. The children all laugh.
  * Margot smiles: “we have prepared breakfast, there should be plenty left”. Louisa and Spiros approach the cooker. There is a frying pan full of scrambled eggs, sausages, fried peppers, tomatoes, and potatoes. On the counter, there are several slices of toasted bread and a jar of honey. Larry smiles teasingly: “we figured you’d need to recoup energies after all that activity”. The children giggle. Spiros smiles. Louisa blushes again, then she answers with stern voice: “enough pulling my leg now. Don’t forget that I am still your mother”. The children giggle again.
  * Spiros and Louisa fill their plates and join the children at the table. Spiros smiles: “excellent breakfast, thank you all for preparing it”, Margot nods: “not a problem, Spiro. You can always pay it back”, she smiles: “next time _you_ can make breakfast”, Leslie makes a big happy smile: “American breakfast, I should hope”, Larry looks surprised: “why American and not Greek?”, Leslie explains: “because I love omelets for breakfast and I am hoping our Spiros Amerikanos here would have learned how to make them in that restaurant in Chicago”, he smiles: “I did learn that and I will be happy to make omelets for you all”, Gerry smiles: “I’d be happy with either, Greek or American, breakfast, Spiro”. Spiros and Louisa look at each other very lovingly. She blushes, but she looks very happy. The children see that and smile sweetly. Lugaretzia arrives: “kalimera sas”, they all reply: “kalimera Lugaretzia”. When she sees that Spiros is having breakfast with the Durrells, she gives him and Louisa a very, very, disapproving look: “po po po, Panagia kai o Theos mou”. They all laugh.

(trnsl: good morning to you all; po po po = an exclamation, my Lady and my God).

  * Spiros looks around the table: “It is almost time for me to go to work. I have clients this morning. A British family wants to do a tour of the island. Does anybody need a lift to town?”, Margot and Leslie reply excited: Me! Me! Gerry nods: “yes, I’d like a lift too… thank you Spiro…”. He smiles at him, he is starting to like this… Spiros smiles: “then get yourself ready, I need to be leaving in 20 minutes”. The children all get up and run to the bathroom, racing for who will use it first. Lugaretzia begins clearing the table. Still looking very disapproving. Spiros and Louisa look at each other with loving and complicit eyes. He speaks with sweet voice: “I should get ready too”. Him and Louisa kiss sweetly, then he goes upstairs, to her bedroom. Lugaretzia looks REALLY disapproving now. She is staring at Louisa, “what is it, Lugaretzia?”, “nothing, nothing, not my business. God will judge…”, Louisa smiles and starts clearing the table with Lugaretzia.

  * The children are walking towards the car. Louisa is standing on the veranda. Spiros approaches her and hugs her. She hugs him, they kiss: “goodbye love, I can come by this evening, if you wish. My wife has a part time job now and on days that she works I stay with the children from 12 to 17. Even if Dimitra and I have broken up, I should still help with my children and spend time with them”, she smiles sweetly: “yes of course you should. You can have dinner with us, if you like, Spiro”, he kisses her, then he whispers with sweet voice: “yes, I’d like that very much. See you later, love”. They kiss again, then he goes to the car and drives off, with a full load of 3 Durrell children.
  * Larry is by the house door. He smiles: “excellent, finally, I am happy for you, mother” Louisa smiles, blushed: “thank you Larry, I am happy too”, “I will be working upstairs. I am writing a traveling piece on Corfu. I want to send it with the evening post’”, she laughs: “still making things up for your British readers, eh?”.
  * In that moment, Lugaretzia emerges from the house carrying the sheets from Louisa’s bedroom and mutters: “ola ine vromika*”. Larry laughs: “excellent!”. Louisa blushes. Lugaretzia starts washing the sheets. She looks really VERY disapproving now. She crosses herself three times, the Greek way, “Panagia mou!*”.

(*trnsl: they are all dirty. Panagia = virgin Mary; mou = my)

  * Louisa goes back inside to clear the kitchen and wash the now high pile of dishes. Happily humming a romantic song. Larry smiles and goes to his bedroom to work.

  * At Spiros and Dimitra’s house. Dimitra is back from work. Her and Spiros are sitting at the kitchen table. The children are playing in the room next door: “your car was not in town last night.”, he smiles: “I have spent the night at Louisa’s”, “so that’s the way it is, now, eh? Well, I am happy for you. You seem very in love”, he seems perplexed: “you are taking this surprisingly well, Dimitra, is there anything I should know?”, she blushes: “well, yes, when I was in Athens, one day I came across my ex-boyfriend, Christo. We started seeing each other again and we had an affair”, he sounds mildly upset now: “so while I was holding things back with Louisa to be loyal to you, you were sleeping with Christo?”, she looks at him with firm expression: “yes, sorry, but I don’t think it is all that different, really. You have been in love with Mrs. Durrell for a long time, whether you slept with her or not. You and I have been strangers in the bed for more than two years, Spiro”, he looks back at her, then he smiles: “well, I guess it is better for all if we each have found happiness”, she smiles too: “yes Spiro, our marriage was not unhappy, but it was never happy either. We were never in love”, “true, when you got pregnant and we married we mistook lust for love”, he smiles sweetly: “I know the difference now that I have found true love with Louisa”, Dimitra blushes: “me too. I am in love with Christo now. I have never felt like this about you”, he looks at her with a sad smile: “I know…”.
  * “if you are in love with Christo why did you return?”, “because the children were missing you. They kept asking about you. Katherini often cried”. He looks sad now: “I missed them too. Very much. I was very sad without them”, she smiles: “I know, several people have told me”, his voice is very sad: “please don’t take them away from me again”, she smiles: “I won’t, they need their father near them and you are a wonderful, loving, father, Spiro”.
  * “how about you and Christo, then?”, “he has decided to move back to Corfu. He is originally from here, after all. You and him used to be good friends before we started dating”, “yea, I feel sorry now. He was clearly very in love with you back then. He left for Athens when we told him we were going to be married”, she smiles: “well, that’s the past. We can’t change it. Now he will be back. In about two months, with the Sunday morning ferry”, he looks into her eyes and smiles: “I am sincerely happy for you, Dimitra. When he arrives, we can pick him up at the ferry with my car”, “thank you Spiro, you are a good man”, “and you are a good woman”.
  * “I must go now, I’ve told Louisa I’d go back for dinner and those English people eat very, very early”. They both laugh. He walks to the back room: “good bye children, come give your bampaka a hug”. Both children kiss him goodbye “bye bampa”. He smiles sweetly at them: “bye agori mou, bye koukla, I will be back tomorrow”.

(trnsl: bampaka = daddy; bampa = dad; agori mou = my boy’ koukla = doll, a common endearing term used for daughters in Greece)

  * Dimitra smiles: “one last thing, Spiro, I was almost forgetting. Some of the women and I will be preparing food for the annual feast for the Litany of St. Spyridon. We’ve met to make plans. We were wondering whether Mrs. Durrell could prepare some of her British foods. People liked the food she used to sell at the market”, “I will ask her and let you know tomorrow, bye”, “bye”.

  * It is evening, Spiros returns to the house. Louisa and Lugaretzia are hanging clothes to dry. To Lugaretzia’s dismay, Spiros walks up to Louisa and hugs her quite publicly: “hello, my love”, she returns his hug and smiles sweetly at him, blushed: “hello Spiro”, they exchange a long love kiss.
  * Then he notices Gerry sitting quietly by his animals. Thoughtful looking. He approaches him: “hello Gerry”, “hello Spiro”, “how are your otters doing?”, “they are doing really well; the pup is much bigger now and I think the adults may be ready to mate again soon”, “that’s wonderful, Gerry. If your otter family is growing you will soon need a larger enclosure. I’d be happy to help you build one, if you wish. We could incorporate a little pond in it”, he smiles happily at him: “thank you Spiro, that would be fantastic!”. 
  * Spiros sits on the ground next to the boy: “Gerry, did you want to talk?”, “we _are_ talking”, “I think you know what I mean: talk about your mother and me”, “oh…. all right”, “you seem worried”, “no, I am not”, “…maybe you think that your mother will love you less now that she loves me?”, “no… yes… I don’t know…”, “Gerry, I can promise you that your mother will always love you very much, as much as she always has. I know that because I have children too. I love each of them with all of my heart. That will never change, for as long as I live”, then he smiles sweetly: “I also love your mother with all of my heart. Honestly, I don’t know how that is even possible, but it just is”, he smiles: “maybe parents have multiple hearts. One for each of their children and one for their romantic partner”, Gerry, laughs: “I don’t know about that, Spiro, I have dissected many species. I have never found more than one heart”, they both laugh. Gerry seems more relaxed now. Spiros gets up: “tomorrow I will have time to help you build a new enclosure. We can go and pick up the material at the shop together”, “thank you Spiro!”. Spiros walks away. 
  * Louisa has been observing them from the house. She approaches: “hi Gerry”, she sits next to him, “hi mom”, “Gerry…. I love you, you know it, right? I always will. You are my little baby, whether you like me to call you that or not. That won’t change now that I have Spiro”, Gerry smiles: “I know, Spiro says parents can love each of their children _and_ their romantic partner with all of their heart”, “yes, we can. We have a big heart”, “I am happy for you, mom, I truly am. You look so happy. And I like Spiro. He is way nicer than Hugh. Even than Sven…”, she smiles: “thank you baby”, mother and son hug. Spiros is watching from the house, smiling. That wasn’t too hard.

  * Spiros and Louisa prepare dinner together again. A mix of Greek and Indian food. Over dinner Spiros and the children are all chatty, enjoying each other’s company, including Gerry: “Spiro, you should have seen the fight between my favorite gecko, Geronimo, and a very large praying mantis, Cicely, last night. In the end, Cicely got Geronimo’s tail and Geronimo ate her in retaliation”, “that’s impressive, Gerry, I am happy I am neither that tailless gecko nor the defunct mantis!”, they all laugh, he continues: “and I am definitely happy I am not a male mantis these days”, Gerry laughs out loud. The others look puzzled, Gerry explains smiling: “female praying mantis eat the male during mating”, Larry makes a silly smirk: “well, then I am happy I am not a male mantis either”, they all laugh again. Gerry smiles: “Spiro, you seem to know more about animals than this ignorant lot”, he nods: “I like to read and I often go to the library in town. I regularly read the magazine of the National Geographic Society. I find it very interesting and for me it is also a good exercise in English comprehension. I have learned many words from it”, Gerry looks surprised: “I did not realize the Greek library had that magazine. I will have to go and read it myself”, “yea, they get it from America once a month”. The scene is very domestic. Louisa just listens and smiles. She becomes very quiet. Larry notices that and so does Spiros. Spiros smiles at her sweetly, then he reaches for her hand in her lap, under the table: “is everything all right, Louisa?”, she looks at him with a sweet, yet sad, smile: “yes, I am fine, Spiro”.
  * After dinner, Larry looks around the table: “why don’t we all play a game tonight?”, they all get up. As the children walk to the living room Spiros holds Louisa back in the kitchen. He hugs her: “are you sure you are well, love? You look very serious”, she returns his hug and smiles at him sweetly: “I am well, Spiro, don’t worry”, he knows that is not true, he smiles at her sweetly, his eyes full of love: “as you like, love, but you do know that you can tell me anything, don’t you?”, she smiles at him sweetly: “yes, I know, Spiro”, he looks at her with very loving eyes: “I love you, Louisa”, she answers with very soft voice: “I love you too, Spiro”, they kiss, then they join the children in the living room. They have left one sofa empty for them. However, Louisa sits on the other sofa, next to Leslie, away from Spiros, and it’s clearly deliberate. The children look at each other. Surprised. Spiros looks surprised too.
  * Gerry looks at Spiros: “are you staying here again tonight?”. Spiros looks at Louisa sweetly: “I don’t know, Gerry”. Louisa makes a tight smile: “maybe not”. Gerry, looks at his mother: “why not? He did stay last night”. She answers with a sad smile: “that was an accident, Gerry. There is not enough room for another person, really”. The siblings look at each other. Puzzled. What is this all about? “So, your bed is large enough for mating but not for two people to sleep?”, Spiros smiles: “Gerry… when it comes to humans, we actually don’t call it _mating_”, “what do we call it?”. Spiros, looks a Louisa with questioning eyes. Is it ok if he goes on that topic with her child? She nods, smiling embarrassed. Spiros continues: “we call it _lovemaking_”. Larry smirks: “…or having sex”. Spiros smiles: “well, having sex and lovemaking are very different things”. Larry looks unsure: “how so?”
  * Spiros, is now blushed and embarrassed himself: “I don’t know how well I can explain it in English. It’s not simple. When two people have sex, they are _just_ looking for reciprocal pleasure. Instead, when you make love to a woman you are truly in love with, you care so much about her that… as you are physically united… your hearts and your souls merge too. It’s like you truly do become one. And in that moment what she feels is what you feel, and that’s all that matters. It’s a very deep bond, a powerful sense of complete union, it’s wonderful and it goes well beyond physical pleasure… Sadly, many couples never experience it”, Larry smiles: “well, you have, obviously…”, “never… before yesterday…”. He looks at Louisa with very deeply loving eyes. She looks right back at him, with the sweetest smile.
  * The children are all quiet. They look moved. Larry continues: “…yet now mother seems not to want you to stay here for the night”, Spiros smiles: “I respect that”, Larry nods: “I don’t understand it, though. What’s different today, mother?”, she sounds sad: “I think things are being too rushed. Suddenly very committing. A whole different level for a relationship. With Spiro’s family situation… I don’t think we are there yet. It’s just too soon”. She looks up at Spiros smiling sadly. He stares at her. He says nothing but he suddenly looks very sad too. 
  * Larry is looking at the two of them: “oh! I think I know what this is, mother, it’s _fear_!”, “fear?”, “yes, fear of losing what you so badly longed for. Now that you have it, you are scared and you push back”, Louisa, looks sad: “mm… maybe”, Larry is upset now: “well, this is really stupid, mother. You finally have what you wanted. Just go for it!”. Spiros intervenes with stern voice: “that’s too judgmental, Larry. I understand your mother because I know that fear very well. Yesterday morning I came to the house with the specific intention of telling your mother that I had left my wife”, he is looking at Louisa now, very lovingly: “but then I didn’t. I was so afraid she’d reject me, that I did not have the courage to talk to her. I just stupidly started working at those shelves. If you hadn’t asked me to leave and not return, Larry, I probably would not have approached the topic…”. Louisa looks at Larry, surprised: “you did what?!?”. Spiros continues: “it was fear… and it can be petrifying… It stops you from doing things”.
  * Larry nods: “we agree it’s fear then. I still don’t understand why you are suddenly so scared now, mother”. You seemed very happy earlier”. Spiros looks at Louisa very lovingly: “it’s all right, we don’t need to rush things, Louisa. I can rent a room in town. We can _date _for now”, he smiles: “that will be fun”, she looks into his eyes and whispers: “no, stay here, if you wish, Spiro. I really do want you to stay. I shouldn’t let my fears get in the way. Larry is right. It’s stupid. We should enjoy what good life brings us. After all, life is a circus!”. She smiles. Spiros looks at her sweetly, walks up to her, and gently lifts her from the sofa. He hugs her, she hugs him back. They kiss. Louisa seems to have let her guard down. She looks happy in his arms again. The children all smile. They are happy too. They all go to their rooms: “goodnight, goodnight, goodnight, goodnight”.

  * Standing in her bedroom. Spiros and Louisa hug, he smiles sweetly: “well, here we are again, are you sure this is what you want, love? I can leave, you know. And I can return tomorrow, and take you on a date. Don’t feel pressured into this, just because Larry was so vocal about it”, she makes a sweet smile: “yes Larry can be very vocal indeed, but he was right. Why would I allow my fear to get between us?”, she looks at him sweetly, then she whispers: “I love you. I am happy that you are here with me”, he answers with sweet voice: “I love you too, and I am happy to be here with you, Louisa”, they kiss, “this is where I want to be. Not with my wife. I wouldn’t go back to her, even if you didn’t love me. I just can’t anymore. You are the only one I want to be with”. They hug and kiss. He unbuttons her dress and takes it off her. She undresses him. They kiss and hug, more and more sensually. They make love again, quietly, because the children are next door. Afterwards, they lay in bed, hugging. Spiros whispers sweetly: “_perfect _again, each time, my love”, “yes, marvelous”. He makes a naughty smile: “…good thing I have oiled the bed’s link springs”, they laugh softly. They kiss. They fall asleep, hugging.


	4. A new life together

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A new life begins  
Spiros' fears and insecurities  
Louisa meets Dimitra  
Spiros' children

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So now that they are together (the true reason for I begun writing this), the description of their new life continues in TV script-like style. In this chapter I begun interspersing little scenes within the main story line. The way a TV show would show small snapshots that break up the story and give context. They also make the characters more real, I think, and can give little hints of where the story may be going next.

  * Next morning, “who would like one of my famous omelets? I can make them the American way… The Durrell’s siblings are all excited at the idea: “Me!, Me!, Me!, Me!”, Louisa smiles at him sweetly and joins them: “me too”, “what would you like, mushrooms, feta cheese, mixed vegetables, sausages, all of the above?”. Leslie smiles: “they all sound delicious, Spiro. Surprise us”. Spiros makes several omelets, and they all sit around the kitchen table, enjoying their breakfast. Margot has a happy face: “I love American breakfast”. Spiros smiles: “even pancakes?”, “I LOVE pancakes, do you know how to make them?”, “yes, it’s easy. I can make them at some point”, “yea!!”.
  * Spiros and Louisa are sitting next to each other. They both look very happy. They turn their heads, look into each other’s eyes lovingly, smiling very sweetly. They kiss.
  * Larry is looking at them: “this is wonderful, the two of you will make a great story for my articles. Maybe even for my new book. I will write a piece and send it with the post later, so that it can be published in the newspaper early next week”. Louisa intervenes loudly: “no! You most definitely will not do that!!”. Spiros, looks at Louisa, very sad: “why? Are you ashamed that your family and friends in England will learn about your Greek toy boy, the taxi driver of Corfu’?”. Then he gets up and goes outside. He leans on the retention wall, staring at the sea. Not angry. Just very, very, sad.
  * Leslie is surprised: “bloody hell, what was that all about?”. Larry looks at Louisa: “your fears last night. His fears today. Your turn to deal with it now, mother”.

  * Louisa gets up and reaches Spiros. She hugs him from behind then she talks to him sweetly: “look at me Spiro”, he turns towards her, looking very sad. Louisa, with her arms around his waist, looks at him very lovingly: “you know, that was _very_ unfair. How can you say that you are just a toy boy for me? Do you really think that I was lying to you when I told you ‘_I love you_’, over and over? ….do you really, truly think that?”, he answers with sad eyes and sad voice: “I don’t know what to think anymore, Louisa. Why did you react like that, then? Why are you so afraid that Larry may write about us in his articles? Your reaction was very strong and very definitive”.
  * “Have you ever read Larry’s writing?”, “yes, I have, he gives me his articles quite regularly. I have read even his books. He is a good writer.”, “then you know that he is always writing about sex”, “yes, he is…”, she looks at him sweetly: “Spiro, I am actually keen that my friends and family in England and India learn about you and me. Today is the day that I usually write letters and I intend to write everyone about us. Even my cousin Prue and her husband Geoffrey, who I know are even more critical and judgmental than aunt Hermione in the old days. I am prepared to face that, because you are so special to me. But I am not prepared to have Larry broadcast our intimacy in the English papers”, he looks perplexed: “he doesn’t know any details of our intimacy”, “that won’t stop him. He will just make them up. That’s even worse. He could write anything. Well, our intimacy is ours and ours only. My children don’t need to know the details, and so doesn’t the whole bloody British Empire”, she looks at him sweetly. 
  * Spiros smiles, still looking sad and unsure, but he seems to be coming around, “come on Spiro. Look at me. I know that some English women are having ‘boyfriends’ here. If that was all I wanted, don’t you think I’d long have one? This is actually rather insulting for me, you know?”, he makes a mixed sad/sweet smile: “I don’t think that, I am sorry I said it, Louisa. I know that is not how you have been conducting yourself”. Louisa is still hugging him. She looks at him lovingly: “and you do know that I love you very much, Spiro, don’t you?”, “yes, I know. And I love you too, Louisa. I am sorry I said that. It was very stupid of me”. They hug tightly and kiss. A long love kiss.

  * Spiros and Louisa go back inside. The children are looking at them. They sit back with them at the kitchen table, Spiros sits next to Margot and makes a sad smile: “sorry…”, Margot smiles: “no need to apologize, Spiro. We talked while you were outside and we’d like to _officially_ clarify that as far as we are concerned you are our very dear friend, and we’d be very happy if you moved in with us and became part of our family”. Spiros looks moved: “thank you for that. I think of you all as my friends too”. Margot hugs him. He hugs her back. He looks moved. He wipes a tear…
  * Larry sits back and smiles: “clearly this is a downside of being as in love as you two are: the fear of losing each other can lead to some rather irrational thoughts. Last night we have seen mother’s fear, today we have seen yours, Spiro”. Spiros looks thoughtful for a bit, then he answers: “you are right, Larry. It’s that darn fear coming back. Fear to lose it all”, he lovingly looks at Louisa now: “I will have to learn to stop that fear and enjoy this beautiful love we have, Louisa”. She smiles at him sweetly. They kiss.
  * Then she turns towards her oldest son: “and just to clarify my previous reaction, Larry. You sure can write about us as a couple, but you _cannot_ write about our intimacy. That’s where I draw the line”. Larry seems annoyed now: “come on, mother, without sex the writing will be boring”, Spiros smiles: “I agree with your mother, Larry. There’s private and there’s public. Our sex life is private. It is not to be made public, neither in England, nor anywhere else”, Louisa nods: “…and you are not to make it up either, Larry. There is to be no sex between the characters of your stories involving the two of us”, Margot smiles: “that’s fair enough, brother”, he relents: “fine, fine, I get it….”.
  * Spiros smiles: “off to work now. if you want a lift to town you should get ready”. Gerry, Margot, Leslie, and Spiros get up and go upstairs.

  * As they are leaving, Louisa and Spiros hug and kiss sweetly, then he suddenly remembers: “oh, I was almost forgetting, Dimitra and a few other women have asked whether you could prepare food for the feast for the Litany of St. Spyridon. The day of the litany is August 11th, but the feast is scheduled for the following Saturday, August 13th. They would like you to make some of that British food you used to sell at the market. People liked it”, she makes a happy smile: “yes of course I’d be happy to”, “sounds good, I will let Dimitra know. The feast is usually lots of fun”. They kiss again. He leaves.

  * The following morning, Spiros and the children drive to town. Louisa walks there later, to buy groceries. Spiros returns to town after driving some clients around. Him and Louisa meet up in the main square. People look at them with curiosity. This new couple has already steered a fair bit of gossip in town. Some are very critical of them living together without being married. Others, instead, are actually rather benevolent. Over the years, the locals have come to like Louisa and her family and that something was brewing between those two had been obvious for quite some time. So people are not overly surprised to see them greet with a kiss, really. They are surprised, though, when they see them walk arm in arm to Dimitra’s house, which is nearby. 
  * “Hello Spiro, hello Mrs. Durrell, it is nice to see you. Come on in. I will make coffee”, “thank you Dimitra, I was going to pick up my clothes”, “yes, I expected that”. He goes upstairs. Dimitra makes Greek coffee: “how much sugar would you like?”, “metrio, efcharisto*’”, she smiles: “den ixera oti milisate ellinika’”, “to xero poly’ ligo, syngnomi”, she smiles: “not a problem, I like to speak English”. Dimitra serves coffee and a glass of cold water, then they both sit at the kitchen table: “Mrs. Halikiopoulou, I am happy to prepare food for the feast for the Litany of St. Spyridon”, “thank you, Mrs. Durrell, that is very nice of you!”, Louisa smiles at her: “I am happy to participate in the activities of the community. Thank you for involving me. As a xeni, it is easy to feel like an outsider. An intruder”, “but you aren’t! Everyone I know likes you and your family, Mrs. Durrell. Most of us think of you all as members of our community”, “thank you, that makes me very happy”, she smiles at her: “and now that you are with Spiro, you are one of us even more than before”, Louisa blushes: “I am glad if that is what _you_ think, Mrs. Halikiopoulou”, Dimitra looks at her with a frank, yet friendly, gaze: “strangely enough, I actually do think that…”, then she makes a friendly smile. She can see that Louisa is rather embarrassed at this point. Louisa changes topic: “for how many people should I prepare?”, “I think 40 pieces will be enough. A number of women will be preparing food, so there will be plenty”. Spiros joins them carrying two full bags with his things. He sits near Louisa. Dimitra serves him a coffee: “skieto for you, Spiro”, “efcharisto’, Dimitra”, he sips it: “nice coffee. Dimitra, you can leave now if you need to. I can stay with the children”.

(*trnsl: metrio = middle (Greek coffee can be served glyco’ (sweet), metrio (intermediate level of sweetness), skieto (without sugar) and it is usually served with a glass of cold water); I didn’t know you spoke Greek; I know it very little, I apologize; xeni = foreigner, feminine form; efcharisto’ = thank you)

  * Louisa smiles: “actually, I was thinking we could bring them to our house today, if you agree, Mrs. Halikiopoulou. We could give them lunch and they can have their afternoon nap there”, “sure, why not. I have no problem with the idea. They will have to get to know you now, Mrs. Durrell”. Spiros makes a happy smile: “yes, yesterday I told them about us and they seemed curious to meet you, Louisa”. Dimitra nods: “and I must say I am happy if they are exposed to proper English. They can improve a lot over what we have taught them”, “but, you and Spiro speak excellent English!”, Spiros smiles at Louisa sweetly: “when we lived in Chicago, Dimitra and I took lessons and read books from the library. We wanted to learn proper English”, “well, you both did an excellent job. Much better than I ever did with Greek”. Spiros put his hand on hers, on the table, then smiles, looking at her sweetly: “I know, but we can work on that now”. Louisa blushes. They all laugh.
  * Spiros calls: “Mihali, Katherini, come and meet Louisa”, the children run from the back room. Mihalis (8 yr/old) speaks first: “nice to meet you Mrs. Durrell”. Katherini (5 yr/old), bows shyly: “hello Mrs. Durrell, it is so very nice to meet you”, “I am happy to meet you too, and please, do call me Louisa”. They giggle then they run back to the back room. Louisa smiles: “I didn’t realize your children were so fluent in English”. Spiros nods: “when we returned from America we continued to speak it in the house, so that they (and us) would not lose it”, Dimitra smiles: “now they will finally be exposed to a proper accent. Louisa seems surprised: “there is nothing wrong with your accent!”. Dimitra, looks at her watch: “sorry, I need to go to work now”. She goes to the back room and kisses her children: “see you later. Have fun at bampaka’s* new house!”. Then she leaves: “bye Mrs. Durrell, I hope you will come by again”.

(*trnsl: bamba’ = dad; bambaka = daddy)

  * Louisa looks at Spiros: “you were right, Spiro. Your wife is taking our relationship very well”, “that’s because she has someone too. Her ex-boyfriend Christos. They reconnected in Athens and they had an affair. He will be moving back to Corfu’ in two months”, she smiles: “well that is good. This way nobody will suffer because of us”, “I agree, it’s good and I am sincerely happy for her. I only want good for her. She is a good woman and a great mom. Our marriage was never truly happy, but I can’t blame her. We made the mistake of marrying without being in love, because she was expecting Mihali. We were so naïve…”, she looks at him sweetly: “I know. You don’t need to explain, love. I am not here to judge you. I am just happy I have you now”, they look into each other’s eyes sweetly, then they kiss. Katherini, runs from the back room: “bampaka, why did you kiss Louisa?”, “because I love her”, “how about me?”, “I love you too”, he picks her up and kisses her, “s’agapo’ para poly’, koukla mou*. Mihali, let’s go for a drive to Louisa’s house, agori mou!”.

(* trnsl: koukla = doll, often used as an endearing term for little girls; mou = my; agori: boy; s’agapo’ = I love you; para poly’ = very much)

  * In the car, driving to the house. Katherini, takes a liking for Louisa very quickly. “Louisa, can I have sweets at your house?”, “yes, of course, darling, you can have dessert after your nap, if your mom and dad agree”, “of course they do, I always have dessert when I wake up!”, “do you have children Louisa?”, “yes darling, 3 boys and a girl. They should all be at home right now. You will meet them soon”, “yeah!!”. Mihalis sits quietly. He seems unsure about the whole thing.

  * The Durrell’s siblings are already back at the house. When they realize that Spiros’ children are in the car they approach it. They all introduce each other. Louisa smiles: “time to prepare lunch. Who would like to help me?”, Katherini replies excited: “me!!!”, Spiros looks at Louisa and smiles sweetly, then, as enthusiastically, he raises his hand: “me too!”. They walk into the house. Katherini holding Louisa’s hand. Spiros hugging Louisa’s shoulders on the other side.
  * Mihalis looks perplexed, but then he notices Gerry’s enclosures: “is that a flamingo?” Gerry smiles: “yes, I have two. Theo Stephanides and I have run an experiment. We fed one flamingo shrimp and the other regular food. The one that got the shrimp diet became pink. Would you like to see them?”, “yes!”. Gerry and Mihalis run to the animals, “Mihali, your dad and I will be building a new enclosure for my otters. Would you like to help us?”, Mihalis smiles: “yes I’d like that”.
  * After lunch, Spiros looks at his children with a sweet smile: “Mihali, Katherini, time for your afternoon nap”. Louisa smiles: “they can sleep on our bed” Spiros gets up: “very well, let’s go upstairs, pedia’*”.

(*trnsl: pedia’ = children, boys)

  * While Spiros’ children take their nap, Spiros and Gerry drive to town to buy wood, chicken wire, cement, and various tools they will use to build the new otter enclosure. Gerry looks very happy: “thank you, Spiro. I really appreciate this”, “happy to help, Gerry”.

  * After Spiros’ children wake up from their nap, they sit around the table on the veranda. Louisa smiles: “who would like to have tea with biscuits?”, Katherini raises her hand happily: “me!!”, “very well I will get you some mountain tea. You shouldn’t have black tea, darling. It’s too strong. Mihali, would you like some tea?”, “oxi, efcharisto*’”, he seems to intentionally refuse to speak English to Louisa. Louisa replies in Greek: “entaxi, opos thelis”. Mihalis walks away, and sits on the bench at the back of the garden, dangling his legs. Louisa prepares and serves the teas, then she walks to Mihalis: “mporo na kathiso edo konta’ sou?”, “nai”, she sits: “ithela na sou milisso, boro??”, “entaxi”, “I am afraid I will have to use English, though. My Greek is not very good. Is that all right?”, “yes”, “you seem worried, Mihali”, “no, I am not”, “may I ask why you are sitting here?”, “just tired”, “maybe you prefer to be on your own because you are not sure about what’s going on?”, “maybe…”, “that’s understandable. Many things have been happening in your life lately. First the trip to your grandmother’s in Athens, without your dad. Then your parents’ separation. Then me. That’s a lot to take in”, Mihalis remains quiet, sitting on the bench, dangling his legs back and forth.

(*trnsl. No thanks; fine, as you wish; may I sit here, near you?; yes; I wanted to talk to you, may I?; ok)

  * “You know, your dad really missed you when you were away”, he looks incredulous, “did he? Then why did he leave us after we got back?”, “he did not go very far. We are only a 10-minute drive from your house. Your dad can go to see you very frequently and you can come and stay here as often as you wish”, “but it’s not the same as him living with us”, “no, it’s not. Are you angry?”, “yes”, “I can see that. I am sorry you are angry. You know, sometimes grown-ups do things that are difficult to understand until you are a grown-up yourself. Your dad and your mom are not in love with each other. Sometimes that happens. Not all marriages work out. But they will always love you. That’s what parents do. We love our children forever”, “but now dad loves you, not us”, “I know he loves you very much. He told me so”, “how about you then? He kissed you earlier”, “your dad has a big heart. There is room for all of us: you, your sister, and me”. Mihalis looks unsure. “you see, I know that for sure. I love my children very much and I still have room in my heart to love your father. I have room even for you and you sister, if you let me”. Spiros sees them from a distance and approaches them, “your dad is coming. Maybe he can explain too”. Louisa gets up and goes back to the veranda where Katherini is chatting away with Margot and Larry.
  * Spiros sits on the bench next to Mihalis: “I saw that you and Louisa were talking”, “yes”, “what about?”, “she said you still love us even now that you love her”, “do you believe that?”, “I don’t know”, “it’s true, you know, I love you very much agori mou*”, “then why did you leave us?”, “because mama’ and I are not in love”, “that’s because of Louisa”, “no, that was true even before. Sometimes moms and dads may fall out of love with each other, but they still love their children. Both mama’ and I still love you and Katherini very much. That will never change”, “but it’s because of Louisa that you have left us”, “true, because I am in love with her, not mama’. I could not pretend otherwise. Mama’ knows it and she prefers it this way too”, “does she?”, “yes she has told me so. You can ask her yourself, if you don’t believe me, but you should know that I wouldn’t lie to you, agori mou”.

(*trnsl: mama’ = mom; agori = boy; mou = my)

  * Mihalis sits quietly. “What are you thinking agori mou?”, “you have ruined my life”, “I am sorry that you think that. I love you very much and I want a happy life for you”, “then come back home with us”, “mama’ and I are not in love. We can’t change that. Life can be complicated sometimes”, “but you say you love Katherini and me”, “yes, that will always be true. And I am nearby. We can see each other a lot. Now that mama’ works I am actually spending more time with you than before. We have been having fun lately, haven’t we?”, “yes”, “so why don’t we try going on like this for a while? We can talk again later and you can let me know how you feel then”, the boy sighs: “all right…”, “can I ask you for a personal favor, from man to man?”, “what?”, “please, give Louisa a chance. She is very nice. You may realize that not only you are not losing my and mama’s love, you are actually gaining hers. And being loved by her is a wonderful thing. Believe me, I know…”, “fine, bampa’, I will try…”, he smiles at his son: “thank you, agori mou”.
  * Spiros and Mihalis walk back to the house. Mihalis looks less worried: “I’d like some tea now, please, Louisa”, “yes of course, let me boil more water. That has become too cold by now. Meanwhile feel free to help yourself to the sweets”, “thank you”. Larry smiles: “I’d suggest the scones. Mother’s scones are fabulous”, Margot agrees: “yes, she makes the best scones in all of England”. Mihalis tries one: “yes, it’s very good”, Katherini intervenes, excited: “yes, I already had three!”, Spiros, smiles: “no more sweets for you, then, koukla mou”. Louisa brings and serves fresh tea. “thank you. Your scones are very good, Louisa”, “thank you, Mihali. Glad you like them. You can have more if you wish”, Mihalis helps himself to another scone: “even the food you made for lunch earlier was very good”, Louisa smiles at him: “thank you Mihali, next time I will make something different for you to try”. Spiros and Louisa look at each other and smile. Small steps are being made…

  * Spiros gets up: “Gerry, Mihali, let’s begin that otter enclosure now”, Gerry smiles happily: “yes!!”, Spiros looks at the other children: “did anybody else want to help?”, “me, me!”, “very well koukla mou”. They all walk to the animal area of the garden and jot down a plan for the enclosure. Then, they dig a hole for the pond. They then lay sand and gravel at the bottom and pour cement on top. They all enjoy working together.

  * After a while Spiros stretches his back: “Mamaka should be back from work by now. Who wants to go and say hello? Katherini answers very enthusiastically “me, me!!”. Mihalis smiles: “me too”. They walk to the veranda. Spiros kisses Louisa goodbye and drives his children home. Dimitra is waiting: “welcome back, how was your visit?”, Katherini smiles: “very nice! Louisa gave us scones!”. Mihalis sounds less enthusiastic: “yea it was good, we are building an enclosure for Gerry’s otters”. The children go to play in the back room. Spiros talks to his wife: “Mihali is not so sure about Louisa. Both Louisa and I have talked to him. He thinks she is responsible for our break up”, Dimitra smiles: “well she is, really, but at this point I can only be grateful for that. Don’t worry, I will talk to Mihali too. He will come around. He just needs time”, “thank you Dimitra. Tomorrow I will stay here with them. Then maybe the next day I can take them to Louisa’s house again. Little by little they will get used to their new routines”, “I am sure they will, Spiro, Mrs. Durrell and I had a little chat while you were packing your things. She seems very nice”.


	5. Greek Philosophy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Visit with the Petridis  
Greek Philosophy?  
A dad in the house...  
Gerry and Galini  
Open dialogue on intimacy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this continues with the previous style - with several short scenes - TV-style
> 
> I am also mentioning Theo's wife, Maria. in real life he was married with Maria and they had a daughter, Alexia. Even though Gerald Durrell never mentioned them in his books, I have decided to introduce them here. It just makes Theodore Stephanides' character so much more real. A man of science, a medical doctor (not in the TV series but definitely in Durrell' books), but also a family man.

  * A few days later, morning. Louisa gets a lift to town with Spiros and her children. He parks the car: “I have a few things to do, love, I will pick you up later”, they kiss then he walks away while Louisa goes to the house of her English friend Florence and her Greek husband Dr. Petridis. 
  * Florence opens the door: “hello Louisa. Nice to see you, come on in, we can have tea together. Was that Spiro I saw walking away?”, “yes, he has dropped me off. He will come back later, after he is done with some errands”. They walk to the living room where Florence serves tea and biscuits. 
  * Florence looks at Louisa: “so what’s new with you? I have heard certain rumors”, she smiles: “anything you want to tell me, my friend?”, Louisa seems surprised: “rumors? already?”, she smiles shyly: “well, yes, there is something. Spiro and I are now together. Last Wednesday he left his wife and moved in with us”, Florence makes a happy smile: “oh I am so happy for you Louisa. I have always thought the two of you would make a perfect couple!” Louisa nods, smiling sweetly, “…and I thought you had feelings for each other for quite some time”, she is blushed now: “we had, but we couldn’t act on them because of Spiro's family. Now we can and we are happy”, “I can see that, Louisa. Your eyes are shining”, Louisa blushes. Florence smiles and continues: “I am very happy for you, Louisa, this was a long time coming”, “thank you Florence, yes, way too long…”, “…and mixed Greek-English couples are the best!”. She is clearly alluding to herself and her husband, Dr. Petridis. Louisa smiles: “The best, indeed! Tell me about you now, Florence, how’s your baby…?”. The two friends chat for a while, having a good time.
  * There is a knock at the door. Florence opens it: “hello Spiro, come on in, join us for tea!”, “hello Mrs. Petridi, thank you”. He walks in and sits on the sofa by Louisa. He puts his arm around the small of her back and reaches for her lips. They kiss softly: “hello my English beauty”, Louisa smiles at him. A very sweet smile. Florence pours him some tea, then: “I was glad to learn the happy news, Spiro, congratulations on such a fine _catch_”. He laughs and looks at Louisa sweetly: “thank you, Mrs. Petridi, yes, I am very happy with my catch”. Louisa looks at him and smiles sweetly.
  * Doctor Petridis walks in, still wearing his lab coat: “hello!”, he notices Spiros sitting next to Louisa. He smiles: “oh, I see that the rumors I have heard in town were true. I thought they might be”, Louisa blushes: “those rumors have traveled very fast!”, Florence laughs: “it’s a small town. People talk a lot”, Spiros looks at Louisa sweetly: “your secret is out, Louisa, I hope you don’t mind it”, “of course I don’t mind, I am just surprised that the news would have spread in just a few days”, “Dimitra and I broke up. I moved in with you. That’s rather juicy news for this conservative society. Of course everybody would be talking”, she smiles: “juicy?”, he smiles at her sweetly: “indeed!”, he leans towards her lips and kisses her. She blushes, Florence smiles: “well, I am happy for you, regardless of the gossip”, Dr. Petridis nods: “me too, congratulations you two, I am sure you’ll make a happy couple!”, Louisa, smiles: “thank you!”, Spiros smiles happily, holding Louisa’s hand. Their fingers intertwined. “Are you done with your visits, dear?”, “yes, the last patient has just left”, “then why don’t you take that lab coat off and join us for tea?”. Dr. Petridis leaves the room. He returns after a few minutes and sits next to his wife.
  * They all chat for a while, then: “I hate to break the party, but we should be going now, Louisa. Dimitra is waiting for us to pick up the children so that she can go to work”. Louisa gets up: “thank you for tea. The two of you will have to come to our house next time”.
  * As they walk arm-in-arm to Dimitra’s place, Louisa speaks with puzzled voice: “I am still surprised that people would be so interested in us”, “that’s the way small towns are, whether we like it or not. Even my parents have learned the news that way, which is really bad because I had hoped I could ease them into it”, he sounds sad now: “now they are so upset that they won’t talk to me”, “oh, I am so sorry about that, Spiro. I hope they will come around”, “I hope so too. I’d love to introduce you to them, my love”, she smiles at him: “and I’d love to meet them”, “I love you so much, Louisa, I want my parents to be part of this really important moment in my life, not against it”, she looks at him sweetly: “they are parents, they will be happy if they see that their child is happy”, he looks at her lovingly: “I am _very_ happy”, she smiles at him sweetly: “me too, Spiro”, they stop in the middle of the road, hug and kiss. People see that. More juice for the gossipers…

  * That evening, Spiros, Louisa and the Durrell children are having dinner: “Gerry, today I went to the library and took these out for you”, he hands him a few issues of the national geographic magazine, Gerry makes a big happy smile: “efcharisto’ poly’ Spiro!”, “parakalo’, Gerry. You can keep them for a week, then they must be returned. And they would not allow me to take out the latest issue. Only past issues”, “these are perfect, Spiro, you are fantastic!”, he smiles naughtily: “I know…”, Louisa laughs: “that was such a fine example of modesty, Spiro!”, he smiles sweetly at her: “I know, it’s Greek modesty”, they all laugh, Spiros and Louisa kiss.

(trnsl: efcharisto’ = thank you; poly’ = very much; parakalo’ = you are welcome)

  * The following week, one morning Spiros, Leslie, Margot, and Gerry drive off. In town Spiros comes across Spiros, the father of Daphne’s baby. They sit at the café and talk about his upcoming wedding that is due to an unplanned pregnancy. Spiros tells him about his own loveless marriage and how much more beautiful true love is: “you can be a father to your child. You do not have to be the mother’s husband, if the two of you are not in love”.
  * Spiros then goes and finds Daphne at her house. He talks to her too, about loveless marriage and true love. Daphne seems unsure: “I know I don’t love Spiro, the father of my baby. I still have feelings for Leslie but I don’t know whether that is true love either”, “you will find out if you give it a chance, Daphne. I know Leslie is still thinking about you. Why don’t you go with me when I go back to the house later? You can have dinner with us, then you and Leslie can talk”. 
  * Spiros spends the afternoon with his children, then he goes back to pick up Daphne. “ready?”, “yes”.
  * At the house. Spiros helps Daphne off the car. Louisa walks out of the kitchen’s door to the patio: “Daphne, it is nice to see you. Come take a seat, I will call Leslie. Daphne sits on the bench in the veranda “thank you Mrs. Durrell”. Then Louisa approaches Spiros: “welcome back, love” they kiss. 
  * Leslie emerges from the house too: “hi Daphne, what a nice surprise”, “hi Leslie”. They look embarrassed. Leslie sits next to her. Louisa and the others go inside the house and prepare supper while Leslie and Daphne talk on the veranda. They all have dinner together, then Leslie and Daphne sit on the sofa in the living room. Spiros looks at the others: “It is time we clear the place and give them privacy, let’s all go for a walk”.

  * While walking, Gerry sounds annoyed: “will we have to stay away for hours and hours even today?”. Louisa and Spiros are holding hands. They look at each other and smile. They know what he is alluding to. Spiros answers: “maybe we will find some interesting animals for you to look at, Gerry”. 
  * Larry smiles: “let’s go back to the top of the cliff. That is a nice spot to sit down”. As they get there Gerry looks tired. Louisa looks at him with stern face: “Gerry, how late were you up last night, staring at bugs flying around the lamp in your bedroom?”, “I don’t know, but there were some interesting moths, including one species I had never seen. I wanted to catch it to show it to Theo, but my gecko Geronimo ate it before I could capture it!”, Spiros laughs: “of course, he needs to eat a lot to regrow its lost tail”. 
  * Spiros lays his Jacket on the ground for Louisa to sit. Gerry lays on it too, next to his mother, and falls asleep.
  * Louisa has a shiver: “it’s a bit chilly. I wish I had brought a cardigan”. Spiros sits on the ground and has her sit in between his legs. He hugs her: “feeling warmer now?”, she smiles sweetly at him: “yes, thank you, love”. She turns towards him and they kiss. Larry and Margot sit on the ground next to them. 
  * Margot is watching her mother and Spiros’ romantic interactions: “it is really nice to see you so happy, mom. I don’t think I have ever been like that with any of my boyfriends”, Spiros smiles: “maybe it’s because you have not found true love, yet”, Margot is quite interested in the topic: “how would I know? How can one recognize true love?”, Spiros smiles sweetly: “I did not know that either, before your mother”. Louisa blushes. He looks at her with very loving eyes: “she is the inspiration for my life philosophy now”.
  * Larry looks very intrigued now: “philosophy?”, “yes, as you may imagine with all that has been going on in my life, I have been thinking about love a lot lately. For months, I have been wondering what _true_ love is. I have come up with a few ideas that I think of as my _philosophy of love_”. He smiles: “You know us, Greeks, have always been philosophers…”.
  * Larry smiles: “I’d be very interested in learning about those ideas, philosopher Halikiopoulos”. Margot smiles: “yes, me too”. Spiros looks at Louisa. Again, to check whether it’s ok that he has that type of conversation with her children. Louisa smiles sweetly: “go ahead, then, I am very curious too”.
  * Spiros blushes: “well, I think one can love in 3 different ways: (1) with the brain, (2) with the heart, and (3) with the body. Love with the brain is what good friends typically experience. They understand each other deeply. They each know what the other thinks. They help and support one another at times of need. Your mother and I have been very good friends for quite some time and it is a wonderful connection we have. We can tell each other everything”
  * Margot smiles: “but that’s not the whole story. After your wife returned it was very clear that you and mother could no longer be just friends, no matter how hard you tried”. Spiros smiles: “true. I love your mother with my brain, but also with my heart”, Louisa smiles and blushes, “that is a much more emotional connection. It’s what makes me deeply happy when she just looks at me and smiles. When we are together, hugging and kissing, my heart pounds so much, it feels like my chest is going to explode any time”. He hugs Louisa. She smiles, sweetly. They kiss. Margot goes all mushy: “aww…. that is beautiful, Spiro. Very romantic”.
  * Larry continues the conversation: “yes but that is not the whole story either, isn’t it? You said the third way of loving is with your body”, “yes, there is the sensual way of loving, but I think that is actually not necessary for _true_ love. The brain and the heart are enough. Of course, physical love with a person you are truly in love with can be very, very, enjoyable. I am certainly not saying one shouldn’t want it. I know I sure do…”. He hugs Louisa closer and kisses her. She really blushes now…
  * Larry, sounds perplexed: “gosh, how would one not want sex?”, Spiros smiles: “well, there can be situations when one cannot have physical love, but still feels true love for someone. I was very in love with your mother even before we became physical”, Louisa blushes again: “maybe one day true love without sex will happen even to you, Larry”, Margot giggles: “unlikely…”.
  * Spiros continues: “one can experience one type of love at a time, of course, and enjoy it too, but that would not be true love in my mind. This is what I think of _the interaction_ part of my ‘philosophy’. True love is a very complete experience. When you have all 3 types of love, they interact and each can grow and change the other. When I realized that I loved your mother with my heart our friendship changed. And now that we live and sleep together it is changing further. It is becoming even deeper than it already was.”
  * Margot smiles sweetly: “so if you feel all 3 or at least the first 2 then you know that’s true love?”, Spiros smiles: “not quite. There is one more dimension to it. Each love can be experienced at different levels of _depth_. I think it is true love only when brain love and heart love are very, very, deep. It takes time to get there. Initially one may have them both, but still at a shallow level. At that point one is in love, but it is not true love yet. Sorry, I do realize that I am not making any sense at all, here. It’s where my ‘philosophy’ is weak, because I can’t define what I mean with _deep_. I just know that is what I feel for you, Louisa, I am so very deeply in love with you….”. He hugs her. She smiles at him very, very, sweetly. They kiss again.
  * Louisa has been looking embarrassed throughout the conversation and they all seem surprised when she starts speaking with low but firm voice: “I think I can help with that. There is one factor that can determine how deep those feelings are. Pain and Sorrow”. Spiros, sounds very surprised: “there is no such a thing in true love!”, she answers with very sad eyes: “there is. When you _lose_ your true love. It has happened to me, twice. When I lost Lawrence 10 years ago and when I thought I had lost you, Spiro”, Spiros hugs her tightly, “both times the heartbreak was almost unbearable. I could not find the strength in me to go on. I could only cry and cry. Even the other day, Spiro, when you came to my bedroom, I could not stop the crying. I could not bear the idea that we could never be a couple. After your wife returned, I tried so hard not to love you that way. Our friendship is beautiful and solid. I kept asking myself ‘why can’t I just be happy with that?’, well, I couldn’t. The heartbreak and the sorrow were completely overwhelming. I knew then… that my love for you was really, truly, deep”.
  * Larry whispers: “holy cow…”. Margot quietly wipes a tear. Gerry keeps sleeping. Just as well, this is grown-up talk.
  * Louisa is looking into Spiros’ eyes now, very deeply and lovingly. He is clearly very moved, crying. She wipes his tears with her handkerchief, smiling sweetly. “I feel awful that I would have caused all that sorrow to you, Louisa. You are the last person on earth I’d ever want to hurt. Yet, I did. I hate myself for that. I am such an idiot”, she looks at him lovingly, then with sweet voice, she whispers: “don’t be that harsh on yourself, love. Life can be complicated”, Spiros and Louisa kiss again, one long kiss this time. Larry and Margot stare at the sea below.
  * “Louisa, you were correct, that completes my philosophy. The sorrow caused by loss can define depth. That is exactly what I felt after Dimitra returned. I was continually sad, completely heartbroken, thorn between my children and you”. Now he is really hugging her tightly…

  * Margot continues: “then what I had with Zoltan was not true love. I did love him, with my brain and with my heart. _And_ with my body, even though we never actually made love”. Louisa looks relieved, “I was sad when he left, but it was not the heartbreak you two are describing. It was not true love, then”, Louisa talks to her sweetly: “maybe with time it could have become it, darling. You just did not have the opportunity to find out”, Spiros smiles: “you will find true love one day, Margot, and I will make sure that when you feel that way, so does he”. Larry smirks: “yes Spiro, I can picture you enforcing true love on Margot’s suitors…”, they all laugh. 
  * Larry continues: “I did not feel true love for Elena either. It was mostly just sex, really. I hardly knew her. I miss her, but I sure am not heartbroken. I was actually sadder when Nancy left, but again, nothing like what the two of you are describing. Thank you for sharing your experiences. It helped me understand mine”. Margot smiles: “and mine”. Larry looks at Louisa: “and thank you for being so open about your feelings, mother. It obviously embarrasses you but you still do it. I admire you for that”, Margot smiles: “yes, thank you mom. I love you”. She and Louisa hug.
  * Louisa smiles: “Lead by example, that’s the principle I try to always apply with you, children. For everything. Love is so important in life. I want you all to find it in yours. If you see what true love is like, then you will know it when you find it. I could not show it to you after your father’s death, but I can now that I have found it again”. Her and Spiros kiss again. Margot and Larry get up and stare at the horizon. The line between the sky and the sea is now a soft tone of blue.
  * Spiros gets up: “it’s getting dark. What do you think, shall we go back and check in on those two other lovers?”, Gerry is still deeply asleep. Louisa is looking at him: “I feel bad waking him up now”. Spiros smiles: “no need to”. He gently picks him up and carries him. Louisa wears Spiros’ Jacket. They all walk back, happy.

  * Larry is walking besides Spiros: “Spiro, I think your philosophy of love is brilliant. You should write it up”, “you are the writer, Larry, you write it, if you like”, “if you agree, I will, and we can both sign the piece”, “sure why not. It will be a new experience for me… and it’ll help improve my English”, “your English is already really good, Spiro. I wish my Greek was that good”, “I’d be happy to teach you. All of you”, he looks at Louisa, she looks back, smiling: “nai agapi mou, tha ithela poly’*”.

(*trnsl: yes, my love, I’d like that very much)

  * Back at the house. Leslie and Daphne are sitting on the sofa in the living room, hugging. Spiros carries Gerry to his bedroom. Louisa follows them. They both undress Gerry and put him to bed. He hardly wakes up and goes right back to sleep. 
  * Downstairs, Louisa approaches Leslie and Daphne: “how did it go?”, “we talked a lot. We still don’t know where Daphne and I are going as a couple, but we want to start seeing each other again and find that out”, Daphne nods: “I will call off my wedding with Spiro. We are not in love and it’d be a mistake to get into a loveless marriage. After you talked to him, Spiro, Spiro came by my house this afternoon and we agreed we should not get married. He can still be present in our child’s life, as you told him. Thank you for talking to both of us, Spiro, your experience helped a lot”, Spiros smiles: “happy it helped. I sure know all about a loveless marriage caused by an unplanned pregnancy. I felt bad you were getting yourself into one too, Daphne”. Daphne gets up: “thank you Spiro. I really appreciate that. Mind driving me home, now?”, “why don’t you do it, Leslie? Just be careful, please”, he hands him his car keys. They all look very surprised. They know how strongly Spiros dislikes it when others drive his car. It really feels like there is a dad in the family in this moment.

  * A few days later. Like several times before, Spiros’ children are at the house in the afternoon. Louisa is preparing biscuits for their tea, Katherini is drawing with Margot, while Gerry, Mihalis, and Spiros are hammering, sawing, and working together at the new otter enclosure. They seem to be having a good time. Louisa approaches:” how is this coming along?”, “we are making very good progress, my love. The basic structure is done and the cement base for the pond has solidified. Now we can put up the mesh and build the nesting hut. Since you are here, we could use a hand, love”, she smiles: “sure, what do you want me to do?”, “just hold this pole up while Gerry, Mihali, and I pour some cement”.
  * “I think we will need more wood boards, Spiro”, “mm… you are correct, Gerry. Louisa, can you please go and get more while we continue here?”, she smiles: “sure, why not?”. Spiros puts a board and some of the mesh in the car, then he gives her the keys. It’s the shop at the bottom of the road by the church. You can just show them this board and ask for 8 more like it. You should also buy 5 more square meters of the mesh”. They kiss “bye”. She drives off. The men at the shop seem surprised to see Louisa arrive driving Spiros’ car. We can be certain that will fuel those gossips in town…
  * As she is driving back, Louisa sees Galini walking along the road to their house: “Galini, would you like a lift?”, “thank you Mrs. Durrell”, “Gerry will be happy to see you”, Galini blushes, Louisa notices that and smiles. When they get there, Galini runs towards Gerry. He looks very happy and smiles at her: “we are building a new enclosure for the otters”, “that is fantastic, Gerry, can I help?”, “of course!”. Galini picks up a hammer and starts attaching the wire mesh to the supporting poles. She accidentally hits her finger: “ha”, Gerry goes over and takes her hand in his. They look at each other and blush. In that moment, Spiros hits his finger too. Louisa takes his hand and kisses it: “is the pain all gone now?”. Spiros laughs: “yes, mommy”, then he hugs and kisses her, looking at her sweetly: “even better now, love”. She smiles sweetly, then they kiss again. Inspired, Gerry reaches forward and shyly touches Galini’s lips with his. A very sweet first kiss. They both blush, and look down. Spiros and Louisa look at each other and smile: “Mihali, Louisa, let’s unload those boards from the car”, as they walk away Spiros smiles: “…and give those two a bit of privacy”. Louisa smiles too. She looks back. Gerry and Galini are kissing again, still holding hands. Her little boy is growing up…

  * Thursday morning. Spiros makes pancakes for everyone. Margot smiles happily: “these are so delicious, Spiro, thank you for making them!”, “my pleasure, Margot. It’s too bad we don’t have maple syrup to go with them”, Louisa smiles: “jam and honey will have to do. I have looked for maple syrup all over Corfu town and I could not find any”, Spiros nods: “and I have looked for it even in other towns. I think it cannot be found anywhere on the island”, “Larry smiles: “I can ask my friends to ship some from England. They import it from Canada there”, Margot looks happy: “have them ship marmite too, please!”, Spiros makes a silly disgusted face: “another fine example of really lousy British food… completely inedible”, they all laugh.

  * Thursday afternoons are one of Lugaretzia’s half days off and all of the children, including Katherini and Mihalis, attend science classes at Maria and Theo Stephanides’ house, down the road form theirs. Even Larry has been going there lately, with his typewriter. He says it inspires him, but Spiros and Louisa know that he does that so that once a week they can have privacy in the empty house. And they sure take advantage of that. It has become their favorite half-day of the week…
  * Louisa and Spiros are making love. With him on top, they come together again. Spiros looks at her lovingly: “always so _perfect, _my love”, “yes wonderful”, he jokes: “only wonderful? Not _perfect_?”, “yes always _perfect_, love, but…”, “but?!?!?!?”. She laughs, then speaks sweetly: “my love, don’t take it like that. Our lovemaking is marvelous, but there is something I have been wanting to talk to you about”, “oh…”, “don’t be upset love, I really do love our lovemaking”, he smiles at her sweetly: ”so what it is that you wanted to tell me, love?”, she smiles sweetly too: “you say you can time your pleasure to mine so _perfectly_ well because I am so transparent to you”, he gives her a tender kiss: “yes you are, my love”, “in those moments I don’t hide anything from you. That makes me very vulnerable, you know? You could hurt me if you wanted”, “I wouldn’t! Never!”, she looks at him with loving eyes, smiling sweetly, then she kisses him: “I know, my love, that’s why I can allow myself to completely relax with you. In the most intimate and vulnerable moments I let you see right through me”, she kisses him sweetly: “…and I actually like that. I love being completely yours, in your arms”, she is blushed now. He looks at her very lovingly, then speaks sweetly: “and I love you for that”, she smiles very sweetly: “I love you too, Spiro, and I know that I can trust you completely”.
  * She continues: “well, instead… you don’t… you hold back. I can’t see through you the way you see through me”. He seems very surprised. Louisa continues sweetly: “you see love, when we make love you know what movements to make because I let you see what sensations they cause in me. Instead, I don’t know what effects my actions have on you. I know you like them, but I don’t know which you like the most and which the least. You seem so concentrated on me that you don’t relax enough to let me see what you are experiencing”, he answers sweetly: “my love, if I don’t concentrate on you I won’t be able to hold my climax back and allow you to come with me. You know, us, men, can get there very quickly”, she smiles sweetly: “I know, and I love you for caring so much about my pleasure, Spiro. I am just saying that you don’t need to be the only one doing it. You don’t need to be so fully in charge. You can allow me to help you with that. Maybe I can adjust how I move to make it easier for you to delay your climax. Maybe we can make our already _perfect_ lovemaking even more _perfect_”. She kisses him, softly and lovingly. He responds happily. They keep kissing very sweetly for a while. Then they begin kissing quite passionately. She touches him. His body responds with a visible erection. She caresses it, slowly. He touches and stimulates her. They both become excited.
  * Louisa smiles sweetly: “let’s give it a try, shall we?”. She gently pushes him back so that he sits up, with his legs folded. She sits on his erection. She lets him penetrate her. They both moan, hug, and kiss. In this position, she has more control. She starts moving slowly back and forth first, then with a circular motion “how’s that?”, holding her in his arms, he smiles sweetly: “mmm, I like it, Louisa”, she now thrusts forward for a really deep penetration. She moans, it sure has an effect on her… he moans too, “how about that?”, he looks at her with loving eyes: “my love if you do that a few more times I will be in trouble. I won’t be able to hold back long enough”, she smiles sweetly: “I thought so…”, she now does the same deep thrust while contracting her pelvic muscles, creating a compression on his penis, they moan together, he pants: “my God, how did you do that?!? A couple more of those and I am definitely done”, she smiles and sweetly kisses him: “now I know what to do when I am really close myself”. She starts moving again, slowly at first, then, as her pleasure grows, she switches to those other movements that she now knows he likes the most. He is much more relaxed now, allowing her to see the effects that her actions are producing on him. He is still monitoring her pleasure to make sure he waits for her, except that now it is a two-person job. When she is ready, she gives the deeper thrusts with the pelvic muscle contractions. He thrusts back, moaning. They come together with deep sighs. Then they lay on the bed quietly for a while, hugging tenderly, then Spiros whispers with loving voice: “wow, now I know what you meant. That was absolutely _perfect_… and easier for me to achieve. Thank you for teaching me to be more like you, my love”. They kiss, and kiss...


	6. Happy life on Corfu

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Date  
Handyman  
Love talking  
it's all Greek to me  
Alecko the lawyer  
Manuscript  
Tea with friends - oh so English  
Family disapproval

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> family life continues. Again, this is written thinking of a TV production, with various snapshots on their new life together as a family. it also introduces a couple of themes that will be developed later.  
I also feel i should apologize to the Greeks out there. Greek is not my mother tongue. I only know it a little and I know I make lots of mistakes!  
Incidentally, English is not my mother tongue either. So I apologize to all. :-)

  * Friday July 1st: a few weeks have passed. Their family life is now complete and happy. The Durrell siblings have got used to Spiros living with them. Spiros’ children have visited several times and they now seem used to their new expanded family. Even Mihalis seems happy with his new life. And Spiros and Louisa are as in love as ever. They decide it is worth celebrating, “children, tonight Spiro and I will dine out”, his arm around her lower back, he gives her a kiss, then: “yes, it’s exactly one month since our first day of love and we want to celebrate it” Margot smiles sweetly: “that is so sweet!”. Larry nods: “enjoy your date, lovebirds!”. They all smile. Happy.
  * When Louisa and Spiros return home after their dinner out, the children are playing a board game in the living room. Larry sees them: “welcome back lovebirds, why don’t you join us?”, they approach them and sit on one of the sofas, their arms around each other’s back. They play with the children for a while, Margot, laughs: “are you cheating Spiro?”, he smiles: “not intentionally, I just don’t know the rules”, Gerry explains: “well you can’t do that!”, they all laugh. It’s Louisa’s turn, she rolls the die and gets a really bad score, Leslie comments: “it looks like you are particularly unlucky tonight, mother, now you are stuck for 3 rounds”, Louisa frowns, Spiros gives her a loving kiss: “this should make up for that, we can do it for the duration of the 3 rounds”, she smiles sweetly: “it’s your turn, my silly”, he rolls the die and ends up on the same spot, also with a 3-round penalty. She kisses him smiling: “to make up for it”, he looks at her lovingly: “well, if I have to be stuck somewhere, I might as well be with you”, they kiss again, Margot comments: “hopelessly romantic…”, they all smile. Gerry looks at his brother: “your turn, Larry”, Louisa smiles: “well, since I am stuck here, I might as well check that you lot have cleaned the kitchen after your dinner”, Margot, rolls her eyes: “yes, mother… I must say I much prefer Spiro’s romantic take on your bad luck at the game”. Louisa smiles, then she gets up and goes to the kitchen. Spiros smiles too: “well, since I am stuck in the same place, I might as well join my fellow unlucky player”. He gets up and goes to the kitchen too. The children keep playing. They can hear their mother and Spiros’ voices as they talk in the kitchen. Then there is silence for a bit. Then Spiros speaks with intentionally high voice: “you look tired, Louisa”, she answers, also with intentionally high voice: “I am, Spiro”, “then we should go to sleep early”, then Spiros’ head appears in the doorframe of the living room “we are off, see you tomorrow morning”, the children all wish them good night. After they leave, Larry looks at his siblings with a skeptical look: “yea, tired…”, Leslie looks skeptical too: “sure, sure…”, Gerry laughs: “5 minutes ago neither of them looked tired”, Margot smiles: “they are continuing their date, I guess….”, they all smile sweetly, then they remove their mother’s and Spiros’ markers from the game board and keep playing. 

  * The following week, one day Spiros returns from work with several wood boards and paint in his car. Louisa seems surprised: “what is that for?”, “now that we are done with the otter enclosure, these are for our new building project. We need a larger chest of drawers and wardrobe in our bedroom, love, to accommodate for my as well as your clothes”, she smiles: “good idea, love, our clothes are all jammed together right now. We sure can use more space”, “you should take a look at the paint I’ve picked. Do you like the color? I can change it if you don’t”, “I really like that tone of green”, “I thought you would. You seem to like this color. You have chosen a similar color for your new dress lately and it goes well with the wall paint”, “I agree, good choice”, he looks at her sweetly: “and it goes very well with the beautiful blue tone of your lovely eyes, my love”, he hugs her, she hugs him back and smiles sweetly: “that was very sweet, my love, you are such a romantic!”, he makes a naughty/sweet smile: “your fault, you are too lovely, I can’t help it…”, they kiss.
  * “Who wants to help? Mihalis replies immediately: “me!”, Gerry goes along: “me!”, Katherini sounds excited: “me!”, “excellent, let’s get going then, pedia’!”. They first sit at the table and make drawings of the new furniture, Louisa approves them, then she goes back to the house. Spiros, Mihalis, and Gerry all start sawing, filing and hammering away. Katherini is busy too, bringing things back and forth and having lots of fun in the process. They are all having a good time. Louisa approaches: “the wardrobe is taking shape very nicely, good job you all!”, Gerry smiles: “thank you mother, next we will make the chest”. Once you are done with this we may want to consider matching bedside tables as well. “You seem to be getting spoiled, my love”, she laughs and smiles at Spiros sweetly: “maybe…”. He leaves what he is doing and approaches her. He wraps his arms around her and kisses her tenderly: “I am always happy to spoil the girl of my dreams”.

  * A few days later, Louisa and Spiros are taking a walk in the woods behind the house. They have been doing it quite regularly since that very first day of love. They usually stop and sit on the big rock in the woods where they sat that first time. They enjoy the time alone. They either smooch or talk. Most of the times they do a bit of both. They are hugging tenderly, kissing, “Spiro… I had a question for you…”, “go ahead, my love”, she is blushed, he notices it and smiles at her sweetly, “when we made love for the first time I told you that it had been a long time for me. You said ‘even for me’, what did you mean? You did have a wife…”, he kisses her: “I meant more than two years. Ever since I finally admitted to myself that I was in love with you, I couldn’t be intimate with Dimitra anymore”, she looks very surprised, they kiss, “how about you, Louisa, what did you mean with ‘long time’?”, “more than 10 years, since my husband’s death”, now it’s his turn to look surprised: “really, you were never with a man after that?”, she shakes her head: “it took me a very long time to recover the shock of Lawrence’s death. I loved him and I just couldn’t be with anyone else”, “no one in England? Not even Sven or Hugh?”, “in England a neighbor proposed once, but I never truly considered that. With Sven, I could have been ready, but he wasn’t. As you know, he is a homosexual. And I am happy we didn’t do it. In retrospect, I know I was not truly in love with him. It was mostly an attraction. He is a very good looking man, after all”, he smiles: “I must admit that he is almost as handsome as me”, they laugh. She smiles sweetly and kisses him: “yes, almost”, they kiss again, “I think my psyche was telling me that I was ready for love again. But Sven was not the one. You were...”, he smiles at her lovingly, they kiss, a long love kiss. 
  * “How about Hugh? He seemed seriously in love with you”, “well, I actually think Hugh is only seriously in love with himself”, “but he did propose to marry you”, “he actually didn’t. He just asked me to move back to England with him. But that is not why I did not accept. The reason is that no matter how hard I tried, I could never fall for him. I couldn’t even allow him to kiss me. I was already too in love with you. I couldn’t help it, even though I knew I had no future with you”, they kiss, “me too, I was very in love with you and I was so upset about his courtship”, she smiles sweetly at him: “I know, I could see it. Everybody could, really. Larry told me once that the reason for you disliked Hugh so much must be that you loved me. Even Florence commented that the cricket game was like an old-fashioned jousting match for me”, he smiles: “you were totally worth it, Louisa, even the blow to my head by Hugh’s cricket ball”, she smiles sweetly and gently strokes the small scar left on his forehead by the ball. They kiss.
  * “And when I rejected his proposal even Hugh knew that it was because of you. I denied it, but he was right. He was quite upset with you. He called you Spiros Amerikanos”, “many people call me that”, “I know but the way he said it was rather derogatory”, “well it’s understandable, the most beautiful woman on the island had just rejected him for this ugly Greek”, she smiles, “you are being silly now, my romantic. You are not ugly and I am certainly not that beautiful. Hugh’s former girlfriend was much more beautiful and younger than me”, “oh, I so disagree, Louisa. Vasilia has a rather vulgar kind of beauty. I take yours a million times over hers. And so did Hugh. That was quite clear. As soon as he met you he was love-struck”, she smiles: “you are exaggerating it now, love. I am actually rather convinced that what Hugh felt for me was not love. It seemed more like an obsession. A desire to own me more than love me”, “well, men do like the idea of owning the women they love. I also like to think you are mine, Louisa”, she looks at him very sweetly: “_I am_ yours, Spiro. It’s not just men. We all feel a sense of ownership over the person we love. I also like to think that you are mine”, he looks at her with very loving eyes: “of course, I am yours, Louisa”, she smiles sweetly at him. They kiss.
  * Then she continues: “well, that is not what I meant about Hugh. You may _own_ my heart, but you always respect me and consider my opinions and views in everything we do”, “of course!”, “well, Hugh never did. He made plans for both of us and he just assumed that I was fine with them. He’d come to the house with a plan and just expect me to drop everything I was doing and get into the car with him. He never checked with me first”, “maybe he wanted to surprise you”, she smiles sweetly: “are you defending your competitor, love? Surprises can be nice, of course, but complete lack of consideration for my opinions is not. Hugh’s British mannerisms may be gentle but in reality, his attitudes are all but respectful”, he seems surprised now: “I thought you did not go back to England with Hugh because you prefer to live here”, she nods: “that’s very true. I love it here, but that was not the main reason for I rejected him. I just knew I could never be happy with Hugh because I did not love him”, she looks at him sweetly: “I loved you instead”, he looks at her with loving eyes: “I love you so much Louisa. Whatever it is that you did not like in Hugh, I am very happy about that!”, she looks into his eyes, very lovingly: “I have loved you for a long time, Spiro. When I cried in your car on that day, and you hugged me, I felt I was finally in the right arms. I wasn’t crying because of Hugh. I was crying because I knew that I could never be truly in your love embrace and I wanted that so badly”, he wraps his arms around her and hugs her tightly: “well, you are now, my love, and I will never let go of you. I won’t make you cry again, Louisa, I promise”. They hug and kiss, and kiss, and kiss… sitting on their rock in the woods.

  * One evening, after dinner Louisa is washing dishes and Spiros is drying them and putting them away. Spiros hugs her from behind. She turns. They kiss: “tora tha mathenoume ligo ellenika agapi mou”, “entaxi” They sit at the kitchen table with the notebook that Louisa has been using for their Greek lessons. Spiros, sounding very stern and professorial, looks at her sweetly: “my beloved student, let’s see what you remember of our previous lessons. Let’s hear the present tense of the verb to be”, she smiles sweetly. Yes, my beloved professor: “ego ime, esi ise, aftos ine, emeis imaste, esis isaste, afti’ ine”, he smiles sweetly: “excellent student, full stars and a kiss”, they kiss, “the past tense now”, she smiles at him ever so sweetly: “ego imoun, esi isoun, aftos itan, emis imaste, esis isaste, afti’ itan”, he smiles lovingly: “marvelous student, more stars and definitely more kisses”. He delivers his rewards. She happily returns the kisses.

(trnsl: now we shall learn a little Greek, my love; OK, I am, you are, he is, we are, you are, they are; I was, you were, he was, etc…)

  * The children are reading. Some have books. Others read letters they have received from England. Larry approaches: “excellent, I should definitely join these lessons. They’d do wonders to my Greek, but I’d be happy with just the stars as the reward”. They all laugh. “Professor Halikiopoulos, may I interrupt your class for a moment? I have written up your philosophy and I’d like your feedback”, “of course I am curious to hear what you have written”, Larry reads aloud: “The Philosophy of Love: 3 Types and Multiple Levels. By the Renown Philosopher Spiros Halikiopoulos, of Corfu, Greece. Written by Lawrence G. Durrell”, Spiros laughs: “renown? Philosopher?”, “poetic license, Spiro, it’s allowed”, Louisa smirks: “yea like all of those stories you make up in your articles and books”. Spiros and Louisa laugh. Then they look at each other with loving eyes and kiss. Larry smirks: “mmmm this is not going to work, isn’t it? There seem to be too many distractions in this classroom. Why don’t you read it by yourself, professor Halikiopoulos, and let me know what you think?”, he hands the manuscript to him, “I will read it later, thank you, Larry”. He turns towards Louisa with a sweet smile: “back to our class, now. The future tense of the verb to be, my beloved student”, she smiles sweetly at him: “that’s easy, my beloved professor, you just put ‘tha’ in front of the present tense”, “yea, almost like ‘will’ in English. It may be easy, but you’ve earned a reward anyway…”. As Louisa and Spiros kiss, Leslie smiles: “obviously, those rewards are as rewarding to the teacher as they are to the student…”. The children all laugh. Louisa blushes… they kiss again.

  * The next day Spiros and Louisa go to town together. Spiros opens the door to let Louisa off the car. They kiss. People look at them. Not overly surprised, really. The rumor has already been going around and around. Spiros smiles: “enjoy your shopping, my love. I will meet you at the café later. I will be having coffee with my friend Alecko whom I have not seen in a while. He has recently moved back to Corfu from Thessaloniki”. Alecko is a lawyer and Spiros inquiries about getting a divorce from Dimitra, “as you know, divorce is not allowed in Greece. There is only one exception and it can only be determined with a court case: when the wife abandons the family home and has an affair. Instead, when the husband abandons the family home and cheats on his wife, it is no ground for divorce”, “that does not sound fair”, “I know, Spiro, but that’s the way it is”.
  * Spiros goes to Dimitra and reports what he has learned. “If that’s the only way, then I will confess my ‘guilt’. After all, I did leave you and cheated on you with Christo”, “Dimitra, in all honesty I cannot put the blame on you. We both know that you left because of my love for Louisa.”, “I know and appreciate your honesty Spiro, but I want a divorce as much as you do, so let’s just do it”, “if you are found guilty, the court may not grant you custody of the children. Obviously, I would never take them away from you, Dimitra, but you’d be completely at my mercy. Legally, you’d have no rights on them. I can’t ask you to do that”, “I trust you Spiro. I know that you want the best for our children. You know that they need to have both a mother and a father who love them”, he nods: “of course and you are a great mother, I’d want our children to keep having you as present in their life as possible”, she smiles: “so I will do it Spiro, I will take the blame so that we can obtain a divorce”, “thank you Dimitra, I really, appreciate that. I know it won’t be easy for you”.
  * Spiros and Dimitra go back to Alecko, who is still at the café, and they arrange for the paperwork. Alecko takes several notes, then sits back and smiles: “it will be ready next week, for submission to the courts”. Spiros smiles sweetly: “may I ask you both that you keep this from Louisa? If we obtain a divorce I plan to propose to her and I’d want it to be a surprise”. Alecko and Dimitra smile: “of course!”. Dimitra leaves and goes home. Spiros and Alecko have one last ouzo.

  * Louisa is done with her shopping. She approaches the two men and puts her grocery basket on an empty chair at their table, “hello!”, the two men get up, Spiros smiles at her sweetly: “hello love!”, Louisa and Spiros kiss, “may I introduce my friend Alecko? He is a lawyer”, “it is nice to finally meet you, Mrs. Durrell. Spiro talks about you very fondly”, she smiles: “hello Alecko, it’s nice to meet you too, please call me Louisa, if you wish”, they all sit down, Louisa next to Spiros: “I hope Spiro is not in any legal trouble”, Alecko laughs: “well, I can see how one may think this rascal may be in trouble, but he actually isn’t”, Louisa, smiles: “I sure am glad to hear that”. They all laugh. She notices the ouzo glasses on the table and speaks with stern voice: “I thought you said you’d have _coffee_ together, Spiro”, “we did, then we went for ouzo too, you know we are Greek, we like our ouzo”, she smiles: “I know, I was just pulling your leg”, he smiles at her sweetly: “I know…”, they kiss.
  * “Love, at the market I have come across Florence Petridis and Maria Stephanides. I have invited them and their husbands for tea next Tuesday afternoon, I hope the day and time work for you”, “of course, love. Alecko, you and your wife should join us too, I’d love to meet the woman who has finally put a harness on you!”, Alecko laughs then smiles sweetly: “it’s a harness I am happy to wear. Irene is such a lovely girl”. Spiros looks at Louisa with loving eyes: “I know what you mean, some harnesses are very good”, she blushes and smiles at him sweetly. Alecko smiles: “I’d be happy to join you for tea on Tuesday, I am pretty sure we have no other plans, but I will double check with Irene. I will confirm later this week”.
  * In that moment Leslie, Margot, and Gerry appear. They are on their way home, after work/school. They see Spiros and Louisa still in town and get a lift back home with them. On their way, they pick up Spiros’ children who will spend the afternoon at their house, as they often do lately.

  * A few days later, evening, after dinner, Louisa is sewing on the sofa in the living room. Spiros goes to their bedroom and returns with Larry’s manuscript of his philosophy: “Larry, I have read this, and I really liked it. Would you have a moment to go over a few small changes I’d recommend?”, “of course, Spiro”, they sit at the small table by the window in the living room: “first, I think we should acknowledge your mother’s contribution, she defined ‘depth’ after all”, “very true, how about this for the title page, then: ‘The Philosophy of Love: 3 Types and Multiple Levels. By the Renown Philosopher Spiros Halikiopoulos, with the Contribution of Louisa F. Dixie Durrell, of Corfu, Greece. Written by Lawrence G. Durrell”, “yea that sounds good”. Louisa is listening and smiles, he smiles sweetly: “then I really like your opening where you explain how my love for your mother is the inspiration of the philosophy. I’d just add her name there. I have no reasons for hiding that”, “mother, would you agree with that?”, she smiles: “yes darling, I don’t see why not, as long as you have no sex in that piece”, “no mother, it’s just philosophy”, “oh that’s going to really surprise your usual readers, then”, they all laugh, “I also like how you have included a differentiation between lovemaking and just having sex”, Larry nods: “yea, I thought that would fit well in the part on love type number 3”, “yes, it’s perfect there and it is a good example of interaction between different love types”, Louisa looks up: “so there is sex in that piece, then!”, “not a graphic description, mother, only theoretical”, Spiros gets up and hands her the manuscript. She reads it: “yes, that is fine, it is not too explicit”, she still looks blushed, Spiros smiles at her sweetly and kisses her: “I have also found a few typos, and I have just a couple of suggestions for word changes, Larry. I leave it up to you whether or not you want to implement those”, he hands him the manuscript: “see what you think”, as he glances at the manuscript Larry comments: “thank you Spiro, you are good with spelling. I should have you proofread all of my writing”, they laugh again. 

  * Tea at the house. Florence and Dr. Petridis, Maria and Theo, Irene and Alecko are sitting at the veranda table with the Durrell children, Spiros, and Louisa. They are all drinking tea and having a good time, “Louisa, your scones are phenomenal, as always”, “thank you Florence, I am happy you like them”, “yes, they are really good, I’d like the recipe if you don’t mind sharing it”, “of course, Irene, I will give it to you later. Here, have more”, she hands the tray with the scones and the jams: “the jams are home made too”, Larry smiles: “I’d recommend the strawberry jam. It’s delicious. One of mother’s specialties”, Spiros nods: “yes, the jam is as sweet as its maker”, he looks at Louisa lovingly, she looks back at him with a sweet smile. They kiss. Spiros notices the emptying plates: “there are more scones in the house, we should bring them out”, “good idea, love”, they both get up and walk to the house, their arms around each other’s lower back. Florence smiles sweetly: “those two look very happy”, Maria smiles: “yes, very in love. It is so nice to see them together, finally”, Florence agrees: “yes, finally. Their love story has been a very long time in the making”, Larry nods: “indeed, but they are catching up on lost time now, believe me”, Gerry smiles: “yes, they are always cooing like sandhill cranes”, Theo nods: “a very fitting comparison, Gerry, except that crane calls don’t quite resemble a coo. They sound more like a loud scream”, they all laugh, Margot smiles sweetly: “well, I don’t know about crane calls, but those two definitely coo. I am happy for them, they are very sweet together”, Leslie agrees: “yes, in our house lately it feels like we are all drinking pints of molasses every day”, Dr. Petridis laughs: “careful, that can cause diabetes”. They all laugh. Louisa and Spiros emerge from the house with plates with scones, biscuits, jams, and more tea. They put them on the table and serve the tea: Louisa looks around the table: “what were you all laughing about?”, Margot answers: “diabetes”, Leslie nods: “yea, caused by drinking too much molasses”, Gerry smiles: “and sandhill cranes…”, they all laugh again. Louisa and Spiros look puzzled, Spiros turns to the boy: “is that good, Gerry?”, “very good, sandhill cranes are a monogamous species. They mate for life”, Theo nods: “yes, they are inseparable”, “thank you then, I like that idea very much”, he hugs and looks at Louisa lovingly, they kiss, then they sit down, Larry smiles: “our point exactly”, more laughs.

  * A few days later, after dinner they are all sitting in the living room, Spiros and Louisa on one sofa, the children on the other sofa and armchairs. The Durrells are reading letters they have received from India and England with today’s post. Spiros is reading Larry’s most recent book: “your book is very good, Larry. I really like your writing style”, “thank you Spiro. How about the content, what do you think of that?”, “the stories are very good, and spiced with plenty of ‘entertainment’, as usual”, Louisa looks up: “you mean sex, of course, Larry puts plenty of it in his books. I wish you didn’t do it that much, Larry”, “why not, mother, everybody enjoys sex, …you included, I gather…”, the children giggle and look at her with teasing expressions, Spiros smiles, she blushes, then she answers with stern voice: “I still don’t see the need to write about it so much”.
  * She continues reading a letter: “as expected Prue is disapproving of us, love. She thinks that we are a bad match”, she holds the letter in between them so that Spiros can read it too, then she reads aloud: “…‘I trust that this liaison of yours with that Greek taxi driver will be of short duration and kept within the decency that our family believes in and always lives by. There clearly cannot be any future for such an infatuation. Geoffrey agrees with me. He says he will write to you in a separate letter’. I am so sorry about this language, love. A fine example of English snobbism, I am afraid”, “I honestly don’t care what they write as long as that is not what you think, Louisa”, she looks at him sweetly: “we have been through this, love. You know how I feel about you”, “I know…”, they look at each other with loving expressions. They kiss, “I feel bad for you that your family is not supportive of your choices, though”, Margot intervenes: “well, that is really not correct, Spiro. We are her family and we are very supportive”, Spiros smiles: “thank you Margot, I appreciate that… very much… you know it…”, Louisa looks at her children: “your support is all I care about, really, I can easily live with Prue’s and Geoffrey’s puritan disapproval. They will come around, eventually”, Leslie nods: “you know that we are happy for you, mother”, Larry smiles: “of course we are, lovebirds!”, Gerry chuckles: “sandhill cranes, for the precision”. Spiros makes a big happy smile: “such nice birds that mate for life!”. He looks at Louisa lovingly. She smiles at him sweetly. They kiss.
  * Spiros becomes very serious: “Prue and Geoffrey may show English snobbism. My parents instead are showing Greek conservatism. I don’t know what is worst”, he looks sad, she gently caresses his cheek and smiles at him sweetly: “I am sorry, love, it’d be so nice if your parents accepted our relationship”, he answers with sad voice: “they just can’t think outside of what this society and the church tell them. To them my separation from Dimitra and our relationship are sinful and unacceptable”, he sounds upset now: “they don’t even want to meet you, love. I have tried to convince them to give you a chance. You are so lovely that I am sure they’d like you if only they agreed to meet you”, he looks very sad. She kisses him: “you need to be patient, love. They don’t mean bad. They just can’t help themselves. This is how they were raised and they haven’t seen enough of the world to know that there exist different ways to happiness and they can all be moral. Morality is not what the church tells us. It’s how we feel inside”, Larry intervenes: “your parents are not different from Prue and Geoffrey. It’s the same conservatism, really”, Louisa smiles at Spiros sweetly: “I am sure with time all of our relatives will accept us as a couple. Your parents have already made a step in the right direction. At least they talk to you again, now”. They kiss.
  * Louisa continues reading her letters: “on a positive note, instead, Brenda seems very happy with the news”, she hands him a letter. He reads it and smiles: “well, she did play a role in bringing us together”, “mostly by creating very embarrassing and difficult situations”. He smiles at her sweetly: “I know, but she meant well. She knew we were in love”, Larry smirks: “everybody knew, really”, Gerry smiles: “yea, you were not very good at hiding it”, Margot nods: “looking at the two of you trying to be ‘just friends’ was heartbreaking … it was obvious that you couldn’t. I am so happy you can be together now”, Spiros smiles: “not as happy as I am, Margot”, Louisa nods: “or me…”. Spiros and Louisa look at each other lovingly and kiss.


	7. The feast for the Litany of St. Spyridon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dance like a Greek  
Month anniversary  
The feast for the Litany of St. Spyridon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A long chapter today. I did not want to break up the story of the feast for the Litany of St. Spyridon. :-)

  * The following weekend, Saturday, July 16th they are all at home, sitting at the veranda table after lunch. “Durrell family, what would you think of the idea of learning a few Greek dances ahead of the feast for the Litany of St. Spyridon?”, Larry smiles: “I’d love to, actually”, the others agree: “me too!”, Louisa smiles: “yes, I’d love that”. Spiros goes to the living room and returns with his guitar. He sits on a chair on the veranda and begins playing a very Greek-sounding tune: “not quite the same as a bouzouki, but this will do”, he continues playing and also sings along: “you are so good, love and you have such a nice voice. Very warm and very sweet”, Gerry smiles: “true, just please don’t overdo it with the sadness”, Larry nods: “indeed!”, they are both alluding to the time that he played very sad Greek songs for them because his wife had left him with their children. Spiros smiles: “don’t worry, I won’t. No need to. I was sad on that day. I am very happy today…”, he is looking at Louisa very lovingly. He begins playing a slow romantic tune, singing: “…giati’ ta matia sou lampoon san to fengari, s’agapo’ toso poly’, tin agimeni omorfia’ mou”. She smiles. She walks to him and kisses him, “kai ego’ ime eftychi, kai s’agapo’ poly’, o omorfos elinas mou”, he puts his guitar down. They hug and exchange a long love kiss. Margot smiles: “aww, so sweet!”, Gerry agrees: “eseis oi dyo eiste panta toso glykoi’!”. They all smile.

(trnsl: because your eyes shine like the moon, I love you so much, my beloved beauty; I am also happy, and I love you very much, my handsome Greek; you two are always so sweet)

  * Spiros returns to playing for a bit, then: “Larry, Gerry, I know you can play the guitar, I’d need one of you to continue playing these chords while I demonstrate the dancing steps”, Larry smiles: “happy to, Spiro”, Leslie makes a mock horrified face: “as long as you don’t sing, brother!!”, they all laugh. Larry looks cross. He gets the guitar from Spiros: “fine, fine, I will only play”, he plays a few chords: “is this correct, Spiro?”, “yes, those are the right chords, keep playing them, please, slowly at first, but then you should accelerate the rhythm a bit”. He gets up and grabs Louisa’s hand, she grabs Gerry’s. Margo and Leslie join in too. They are all holding hands forming a small open circle of dancers. Spiros is at the head of the line and shows the steps to them: “this dance is probably the easiest. It has only 6 steps that continue repeating”, Louisa is already following him, copying those steps at the rhythm of the music, “I am impressed, love, you are very good!”, she laughs: “I used to really like dancing when I was young”, he looks at her sweetly: “you _are_ young, my love, and a very good dancer”, then he looks at the children: “Gerry, you are very good too, excellent moves, very fluid!”, he smiles back at him, while dancing away: “thank you Spiro!”. As the children all pick up the steps, Larry accelerates the rhythm of the music. The dancers all follow. Spiros begins making fancy moves at the head of the line of dancers, holding a white handkerchief in his hand, “that’s so good, love”, Larry laughs: “just showing off”, Margot smirks: “male-typical”, Gerry chuckles: “it’s like a courtship ritual”, Spiros laughs: “indeed, the courting of the lovely Mrs. Durrell”. He stops dancing to kiss her sweetly, she happily returns the kiss, then she laughs: “that was very romantic, love, but it made us all loose the pace of the dance. He looks at her with a naughty smile: “it was totally worth it!”, then he kisses her again. They all laugh.
  * Now Spiros takes the guitar: “Larry you should join the practice now. He begins playing, adding a melody to the rhythm, and singing along beautifully. Gerry takes the lead in the dance and also makes some of those fancy steps with his handkerchief. Louisa smiles: “more male courtship rituals, eh son?”, Leslie teases him: “practicing for when Galini is watching”, Margot chuckles: “she will be very impressed”, Gerry blushes. They all laugh. Louisa smiles sweetly: “enough teasing, now, leave him alone”.
  * They continue dancing for most of the afternoon. Larry, Gerry, and Spiros take turns at the guitar so that Spiros can demonstrate the steps of the various dances and show off his dancing skills. In the end, they all sit down, tired, but happy, Spiros and Louisa are sitting next to each other on the bench, him with his arm around her shoulders, her with her head leaning on his shoulder, “oh, this was so much fun! We should do it more often. I hadn’t danced since India”, Spiros looks surprised: “has it really been that long since you’ve last danced?”, “yes, the last time was with my husband. I did not feel like dancing after his death”, he looks at her with sad eyes: “I am so sorry, my love, that sounds very sad”, she smiles sweetly at him: “yes, it was very sad, but now I am happy again and I feel like dancing again”, he leans towards her and they kiss, “I will make sure the rest of your life is happy and full of dances, my love”, she looks at him very sweetly: “I know it will be”. They kiss.

  * Over the next few weeks they continue practicing their Greek dances and they all become quite good. Even Mihalis and Katherini practice with them on days that they are at the house and they both learn their steps nicely. Spiros smiles: “we will be the best dancing family at the feast”, Katherini looks happy: “yes, bampaka, the best”, Louisa laughs: “well at least the best Greek-English family”, “the best combination, my love, a perfect recipe for happiness”, she smiles at him: “very true!”, they kiss, “and now a bit of a change”, he begins playing a waltz. Larry immediately invites his mother and they dance beautifully. Margot and Leslie join in quickly. Gerry takes Katherini and shows her the moves. Margot stops dancing with Leslie and shows Mihalis the moves. They all have fun while Mihalis and Katherini learn the steps. Then Spiros shifts gear a bit. He begins playing a polka. They all dance to it. Then a cha-cha, then a rumba, then more waltzes, polkas, even a tarantella. After a while he stops: “we really are a very international family”, Katherini smiles: “what does that mean?”, Mihalis answers: “diethnes, because we are Greek and English”, Leslie smiles: “and we dance to music from different countries!”, Margot nods: “yes and that’s very good”, Larry agrees: “very mind opening”, Louisa makes a big smile: “proudly so!”.

  * Monday, August 1st Evening, Louisa and Spiros are sitting at the taverna in town. They are having dinner out. Spiros smiles sweetly: “happy second month together, my love”, she looks at him with loving gaze: “yes, very happy. I wouldn’t describe these past two months any other way”, he smiles sweetly and leans towards her. They exchange a loving kiss. Spiros is very happy: “I am liking these monthly outings to celebrate our love”, She smiles sweetly at him: “me too, we should make this a habit”, he looks at her with loving eyes: “yes, at least once a month we go on a date. Just me and you”, she laughs: “no children!”, he chuckles: “I did not mean to imply I don’t like having our children around”, she chuckles too: “neither did I, but…”, “but?”, she looks into his eyes: “but I love our private time together too”, they kiss again. He reaches for her thigh under the table and makes a naughty smile: “I especially love those Thursday afternoons…”, she smiles sweetly: “me too”, he puts his hand under her skirt and moves it up her leg, gently stroking her naked skin. She has a small shiver, then whispers: “behave yourself, love”, he gives her a soft loving kiss, then he removes his hand, while pouting his lips: “fine, fine…”, she laughs and gives him a tender kiss: “oh, that face was very sweet, my love”, he makes a naughty smile: “then I shall do it more often”, they laugh. They kiss again and they keep talking, smiling, laughing, flirting very lovingly…
  * The taverna owner, Petro, is watching from a distance, smiling. His wife approaches him: “look at those two sinners”, he looks at her smiling: “they look pretty happy to me”, “but they are not married”, he grabs her waist and gives her a kiss: “does it really matter, if they are in love?”, “but the priest says…”, “what would the priest know? I have known Spiro for many years. We were in school together and we have been friends since. I have seen him with many girlfriends. Believe me, he was one popular guy before he got married”, she giggles: “yes, he has dated most of my girlfriends”, he smiles: “well, I have never seen him this happy. As his friend, I am just happy for him, regardless of their marital status”, she looks towards Spiros and Louisa who are now talking, their hands clasped together on the table, looking at each other very lovingly: “I suppose you are right. He was never like that with Dimitra either. And Dimitra looks pretty happy too lately. Maybe this is just for the better. For all of them” … Petro and his wife are a good representation of the sentiment in town. It’s a conservative town. It’s the 30ies. Criticisms about their relationship are expected and common, but so are those who are just happy for them and their obvious happiness.
  * Louisa smiles: “since we are here without the children, I wanted to pass an idea by you”, he makes a silly smile: “oh I hope it involves some very private celebrations of our 2 months together”, she giggles: “that too, my love, but I was actually thinking of something else”, he pouts his lips again, she laughs sweetly: “gosh that really is very sweet”, she gives him a loving kiss: “hard to resist”, he laughs and pouts his lips again, winking, she giggles and kisses him again: “seriously now, my love. Saturday September 3rd is Leslie’s birthday. He will be 20 this year. I’d like to plan some fun for him. I was thinking of a picnic. What do you think?”, he makes one of his big happy smiles that she loves so much: “I love the idea! And you may not know it, but September 3rd is my birthday too. I will be 46”, “oh I did not realize that, then we definitely need to celebrate. Do you know a nice place for the picnic?”, he smiles at her sweetly: “of course, leave that to me, trust me”, she smiles sweetly: “I do trust you, Spiro, always…”, they kiss again, “I love you”, “I love you too”.

  * Saturday Aug 13th, the day of the feast for the Litany of St. Spyridon. Spiros works in the morning. He drives around several new foreigners who have arrived with the ferry from Brindisi. They even put some of them up at their house. Louisa and Margot spend the morning preparing food for the feast. Lugaretzia seems perplexed: “why are you bringing British food to a Greek festival?”.
  * They all (including their new house guests) go to town to help with party preparations.
  * Louisa and Spiros, each carrying a large tray with British food, walk towards the tables that some women are setting up with food. Dimitra is one of them. Katherini sees them and runs their way: “bampaka, Louisa, you are here!!”, Louisa smiles: “hello darling, are you all ready for the party?”, “yea!!”, she smiles: “excellent! And have you and Mihali been practicing your dance moves?”, “yes!!”, “you look very pretty in that dress. Is it new?”, “yes, do you like it?”, Katherini turns around to show her, “I love it! Did you choose it?”, “yes, with mama’”, “excellent choice! Hello Mihali, you look smart in your new clothes too!”, Mihalis smiles: “hello Louisa, I am glad you brought sausage rolls and Scotch eggs. I like them!”, she smiles: “I know, the last time I made them you ate many!”, he smiles then he runs off to say hi to Louisa’s children. Louisa turns towards the women at the food tables: “yassas”, Dimitra smiles: “hello Spiro, hello Mrs. Durrell”, Spiros smiles: “yassas kyries”, he puts the tray on the table, kisses Louisa, then goes to help set up the dance floor for the evening. Dimitra smiles: “Maria, Thoula, Efterpi, Nikoleta, Christina, Yanna, Tasuola, xerete ti kyria Durrell*?”, “nai, yassas kyria Durrell”, “yassas! I see you ladies call each other by first name. Well, … borite na me kalesete Louisa an thelete”, the women all nod: “nai, yassou Louisa”, “and you can call me Dimitra, if you wish”, “yes, happy to, Dimitra”. They smile and together with the other women they lay the food on a long table, ready for the party. 

(*trnsl: do you know Mrs. Durrell?; yes, hello Mrs. Durrell; Hello! ... you can call me Louisa if you wish; yes, hello Louisa)

  * Spiros, Mihalis, Louisa’s children, and several other people are putting up decorations. Dimitra is looking their way: “Spiro looks very happy. You know, he really loves you, Louisa. I hope you love him too”. Louisa looks at Spiros with very loving expression, and whispers: “I do”. Dimitra is looking at her intently: “yes, you do… I can see it in your eyes. I am happy for the two of you”, she smiles: “thank you Dimitra, and I am happy that you have found love too. Spiro has told me about Christo”, she blushes: “oh… he has…”, Louisa looks at her smiling: “yes, he is sincerely happy for you and so am I”, “thank you, Louisa”, “he arrives tomorrow, doesn’t he?”, she answers smiling sweetly: “he does”, “you must be so happy”, she is blushed now: “I am...”. They smile at each other. The other women don’t understand English but they are surprised to see the two of them talk so amicably. Dimitra’s best friend, Thoula, is the only one to know about Christos. She does not understand English either, but she does grasp Christos’ name in the conversation. She knows what they are talking about. She smiles too.

  * Now a number of people are setting up a power generator and electric lights for the party. Spiros is precariously standing on top of a very tall ladder. Louisa notices that: “I don’t like that he is that high up. It’s dangerous”. She speaks loudly: “Spiro, please, do come down”. Spiros looks down at her. In that moment, a leg gives in and the ladder topples over. Louisa screams: “Spiro!!”. Leslie and another man reach for the ladder and try to stop it falling. They can’t prevent it. They can only slow the fall. Spiros falls on his back. He hits his head and passes out.
  * Louisa runs over. Spiros is laying on the ground, motionless, a puddle of blood staining the ground near his head. She becomes really distressed. She is in tears: “call the doctor, please, call the doctor!” Gerry runs to Dr. Petridis’ house, which is nearby. A small crowd gathers around them: Louisa’s children, the men and women who had been setting up for the party, Dimitra, and a few bystanders, including the British consul and the British judge.
  * Louisa is kneeling besides Spiros, her hands on his chest. She is sobbing: “Spiro, please wake up my love, please, please, please, wake up”, she is shaking him: “don’t die, my love, don’t die, please don’t die”. Larry is watching her. He is crying too, quietly. He knows what she is going through. This is so darn similar to that faithful April day in 1928 in India, when his father dropped to the ground, never to get up again. It can’t be happening again…
  * Florence and Dr. Petridis arrive running. Florence kneels and hugs a sobbing Louisa. Dr. Petridis listens through his stethoscope: “his heart is beating normally. He will be all right, Louisa”, she is still crying but she looks relieved now. Dr. Petridis uses salts to revive Spiros. As he comes back Spiros sees Louisa crying next to him: “if I am dead I must be in Paradise because you are here with me, my love”. Dr. Petridis and Florence smile sweetly. Larry (also visibly relieved) smiles: “yup, that’s our Spiro back. The incurable romantic”. They all laugh, including Louisa.

  * Doctor Petridis smiles: “let’s go to my office now. I’d like to take a look at that abrasion on your head. I’d also like to give you a few tests, Spiro”. He helps him up. Then the doctor and Louisa hold Spiros’ arms as he shakily walks towards the doctor’s office. Dr. Petridis turns to Dimitra: “can you and your children please go with us too, Mrs. Halikiopoulou?”. Dimitra and the children follow them and sit in the waiting room. Mihalis seems worried: “is bampa’ all right, mama’?”, Katherini looks worried too: “Louisa was crying… is bampaka hurt?”, “don’t worry, pedia’, Louisa was worried that your bampaka may be hurt seriously, but he isn’t. He will be fine. The Doctor just wants to do a few tests”.

(trnsl: mama’ = mom; bampaka = daddy)

  * In the doctor’s office, Louisa is next to Spiros, still looking worried. With Florence’s help, Dr. Petridis first cleans dirt and a blood clot on the back of his head: “this cut is fairly long, Spiro, it will heal more quickly if I apply a few stitches”, Louisa, answers for him, with worried voice: “that’s fine doctor, whatever he needs”, Spiros smiles at her sweetly and reaches for her hand: “yes, that’s fine”. With Florence’s help, the doctor shaves the back of Spiros’ head and cleans the area with iodine solution, “you look smart with that red patch on your head, love”, he chuckles: “if you like it, I will adopt it as my hair style from now on. I’d do anything to be liked by you, love”, Louisa looks at him lovingly and smiles. Florence and the doctor smile sweetly too. The doctor takes forceps and a suture needle with thread out of a sterile alcohol solution: “don’t move now, Spiro. I am going to apply the stitches. It will hurt a bit”, still holding Louisa’s hand, he moans: “ah!, ah!, ah!”, “all done, you were very good”, then the doctor puts a gauze on the stitches and attaches it to his head with tape: “you can wash your hair only in 5 days, Spiro. This will come off with water. You should come and see me for a new patch after that wash or if this comes off for any other reasons. I will remove the stitches in 10 days”, “thank you doctor. Do I still look smart, love?”, “she laughs: “you look like a pirate, except that the patch is on your head instead of your eye”, “a lovable pirate, I hope”, she laughs sweetly: “yes, very lovable”, he smiles at her: “then I’d need a stock of these patches, doctor!”. They all laugh, then Dr. Petridis continues: “I’d like to give you a few tests now, Spiro, to check for any brain insults. Let’s begin with your sensorimotor functions”. He tests Spiros’ vision, hearing, olfaction, touch, and reflexes. He also has him perform various exercises, to check his motor functions and balance, “next, I’d like to assess your cognitive functions, Spiro, then we are done”.
  * Doctor Petridis calls Dimitra and the children to his office, Katherini runs up to Spiros: “bampaka what happened to your head? You have a patch!”, “nothing serious, koukla mou. Just a few stitches”, Louisa smiles: “the doctor will remove them in a few days, meanwhile your dad will look like a pirate”, Mihalis chuckles: “that’s very smart”, Louisa laughs, “indeed”. The doctor smiles: “please sit down near your mother now, children, so that I can give your dad a few more tests”, he turns to Spiros: “now a few questions to test your memory. What’s your name?” “Spyridon Halikiopoulos”, “when were you born?”, “1892”, “who am I?”, “Dr. Petridis and that is your lovely wife Florence Petridi. She makes very good tea and biscuits”. The Doctor Looks at his wife and smiles sweetly: “who are these people? “Dimitra, Katherini, and Mihali”, “who are they?”, “my wife and my children”, “and who is this?”, he looks at her with sweet eyes, “Louisa Florence Dixie Durrell, my true love”, they all smile, “where are we?”, “Corfu town”, “what year is it?”, he looks at Louisa lovingly: “the best in my life because I got her”, she smiles sweetly, Dr. Petridis smiles too: “what year would that be?”, “1938”, “what day?”, “it’s August 13, the day of the feast for Aghios Spyridon’s Litany”, “what were you doing before you fell?”, “the best thing I could do: I was watching her”, Louisa smiles again: “it seems I am being a distractor, doctor. Maybe I should walk away and let you finish your job with this unruly patient”, “no stay, my love. I will behave. I promise”. Dr. Petridis, smiles: “so where were you as you were looking at Louisa?”, “on top of a ladder, setting up the lights for the generator”, “then what?”, “Louisa told me to get down, I looked at her, the ladder toppled, and I fell. As I was falling I heard her scream my name”, “then what?”, “I don’t know. I think I passed out… and when I woke up I was in Paradise, with my angel right next to me”. They all laugh. Incurable romantic, indeed. Dr. Petridis smiles: “at this point I should be repeating all of this in Greek, but since you did so well in your second language, Spiro, I don’t think that is necessary. Your remote and recent memories seem intact. And your sensory and motor functions are normal. You likely have no brain damage. Still, you will need to take it easy for a while and… no more ladder climbing!”.

(Trnsl: bampaka = daddy; koula mou = my doll; aghios = saint, masculine form)

  * They all walk back to the party. Dimitra sits at one of the long tables that have been laid around a central area that will later be the dance floor. She begins feeding her children. Spiros sits on the long bench next to them, to help with the children. Louisa sits next to Spiros. They hug and kiss. Louisa chats with Dimitra and the children. People look surprised. Those two women are not supposed to be friends. Lots of gossiping goes on. They don’t mind it. It’s expected….
  * The Durrell siblings john them. Margot hugs Spiros: “I am so happy you are well, Spiro. You gave us quite the scare, you know?”, “I know, I saw your mother crying. It must have been pretty bad. I am sorry I have made you cry, love. I had promised myself that it would never happen again”. Leslie smiles: “then we’d better keep you away from ladders Spiro”. They all laugh.
  * Gerry looks relieved too: “you always tell me to be careful with ladders, Spiro, but then… look at you!”. He sits across the table from them. Galini arrives and sits next to Gerry. He smiles at her. They quietly exchange a shy kiss, then blush. The others all smile sweetly. Ah! Young love…
  * Larry is sitting at the same table, a bit separate from the others. Margot sits next to him, she whispers: “Larry, I saw that you were crying earlier”, “yes, that moment was awfully similar to the day father died”, “well, that explains mother’s reaction”, “yea, it was a bit… strong”, “but understandable…”. Brother and sister hug. Louisa notices that. She thinks she knows why…

  * The party picks up. People arrive and they start eating the food. Lots of pitas and other Greek foods. Louisa’s British food is very popular too.
  * Spiros’ parents arrive too and people tell them about his fall. They approach the table where the Durrells, Dimitra, Spiros, and their children are sitting. Katherini runs towards them: “giagia, pappou elate katiste mazi mas!”. Spiros’ mother picks her up and kisses her: “yassou mikri’ mou”, then they turn towards Mihalis: “yassou agori mou”, “yassas giagia kai pappou!”, Louisa smiles: “kalispera kyrie kai kyria Halikipoulos”, the Durrell siblings join her: “yassas kyrie kai kyria Halikopoulos”. Spiros’ parents answer the children: “yassas”, but they deliberately ignore Louisa. Spiros’ mother turns towards Dimitra: “kalispera Dimitra, pos pate?”, “mia chara’, efcharisto’ kyria Halikipoulou”, “kai esi, Spiro, ti kanis? Sas ipame oti epeses apo mia skala. Ise kala’ o gios mou?”, she points at the patch on his head, “nai epesa, alla o giatros leei oti ime kala’, min anisychite”, Louisa repeats: “nai, kyrie kai kyria Halikipoulos, min anisychite, o Spiros ine kala’ tora”. They ignore her again and leave. They sit at a table across the dance floor from theirs. Spiros is visibly upset. He hugs Louisa and whispers to her ear: “I am so sorry about my parents’ behavior, my love”, she looks at him sweetly: “don’t worry about me, Spiro. Rather, I am sorry for you, I know this really hurts you, love”. They look at each other lovingly, then they kiss. Dimitra is watching and so are Spiros’ parents, looking very disapproving.

(trnsl: grandma, grandpa, come and sit with us; hello my little one; hello my boy; hello grandma and grandpa; good evening Mr. and Mrs. H.; hello Mr. and Mrs. H.; hello, Dimitra, how are you?; very well, thank you, Mrs. H; and you, Spiros, how are you? We were told you fell off a ladder, are you well, my son?; yes I fell but the doctor says I am fine, don’t worry; yes, Mr. and Mrs. H., don’t worry, Spiros is fine now)

  * The music begins. Lots of traditional Greek dances, with people dancing in increasingly larger circles and spirals. Spiros seems to have recovered from his fall. He takes Louisa’s hand and leads her to the dance floor. Him and Louisa join many of the dances. So do Louisa’s children. Their Greek friends join the dances too; the Stephanides, the Petridis, and several others. They all seem to have a very good time. The Durrells show off their Greek dancing skills. People watch those foreigners embrace their culture with great curiosity. It’s good...
  * Dimitra goes up to the musicians and talks to them. They announce: “in honor of the many foreign residents and visitors we are now going to play some non-Greek dances”. Scattered throughout the traditional Greek dances they begin playing also Waltzes, Polkas, Rumbas, etc. Spiros and Louisa dance to all of them. They look very happy and they dance beautifully together.
  * Larry is watching, still sitting at the table: “I did not realize Spiro knew those dances so well. He has played the music many times, but he has never danced them with us”. Dimitra nods: “when we lived in Chicago Spiro and I went to dance school. We both like dancing, so we decided we should learn non-Greek dances too”. Larry smiles: “So you must know them well too. Would you like to dance?”, “I don’t see why not”. Dimitra and Larry dance. They are both very good and they have a good time. Various other couples also enjoy those dances: Leslie and Daphne, Dr. Petridis and Florence, Margot and Pavlo, Theo and Maria, Alecko and Irene, Gerry and Galini, many of the foreign visitors, the British consul and his Greek wife, the town’s British judge and his Greek wife, and some Greek couples who decide to give those foreign dances a go... even Mihalis and Katherini dance quite well. Those dancing lessons at home have worked for all of them.
  * A tango begins. Although many other couples dance to it, Spiros and Louisa really stand out. They dance to the sensual music with their bodies very, very, close to each other, in perfect synchrony. The effect is really sexy. Many people watch them, captivated. The Greek audience looks rather scandalized by the very allusive postures. Lugaretzia is staring with very a disapproving expression and Spiros parents look _really_ upset now... As the tango ends Spiros and Louisa kiss passionately, in the middle of the dance floor. In case anyone is still wondering whether or not they are in love...

  * After much dancing, they all sit back at the benches of the table, facing the dance floor, happy and tired. Spiros has his arm around Louisa’s shoulders. She leans with her head on his shoulder. Leslie smiles: “that was fun”, the he looks at Spiros and Louisa: “…and the two of you, wow! That tango was quite something”, Spiros looks at Louisa lovingly: “it’s your mother’s fault. Her love gives me inspiration. She is the music I dance to”. Louisa smiles sweetly, looking at him, blushed. They kiss. 
  * Margot smiles: “awww, Spiros, you are such a romantic! I will never be able to find a man who tells me the kind of things you tell mother. I hope you do realize that because of you I will never be happy with any man. You have set the bar too high!”. Leslie agrees: “and I know that I will never meet that bar either. Larry may know how to speak like that. I can’t!”. They all laugh.
  * Dimitra smiles: “you all keep saying that Spiro is a very romantic man. I was married to him for more than 9 years. I know him well and I know he is a very _good_ man. Very helpful, nice, and respectful. However, he is _NOT_ a romantic…”, she smiles softly: “it’s you Louisa… he says those things only to you”. Now Spiros is holding Louisa’s hand in her lap: “Dimitra you know why I have never spoken to you like that. We were never truly in love. You did not say romantic things to me either”, she smiles: “I know, it’s nobody’s fault, just life”, she looks at him and Louisa: “I am happy that you are so in love now, Spiro. I truly am”, he smiles at her: “thank you Dimitra, and I am glad that Christo will be here very soon. I’d be very happy for you if you had found with him what I have with Louisa”. They all smile.
  * Spiros’ parents are watching them from their table, across the dance floor. They can’t hear what they are saying but they look very disapproving. Spiros and Louisa do not notice that. Dimitra does.
  * Spiros looks at Louisa very lovingly: “light to my eyes, music to my ears, would you like to dance again? I think this may be the last piece for the night”, Louisa laughs sweetly: “you are overdoing it now, my romantic”, they kiss, then they get up, walk to the dancefloor holding hands, and dance to the notes of The Blue Danube Waltz.
  * As they dance, Louisa looks at him with loving eyes: “this is my favorite Waltz. One of my favorite pieces of music, actually”, he looks at her sweetly: “I love it too. Johann Strauss II did such a great job creating the illusion of the flowing waters of a large river”, she smiles: “…the blue Danube”, he answers with loving voice: “yes, and the music is so sweet that it goes perfectly with your sweetness, my love”, she smiles at him very lovingly: “Spiro, I do love it when you say those romantic things to me, but…”, he smiles: “but?!?!”, she chuckles: “…but today you are pushing it further than usual. Is it an effect of that blow to the head?”, she laughs sweetly: “was your romantic brain center hit?”, he smiles looking at her lovingly: “in a sense it was. I am being like that because when I came back I saw you cry so much. I hate the idea that I have caused you to cry, love. So, I am trying to cheer you up”. He briefly stops dancing to kiss her, “yes, I was crying hard. Seeing you lay on the ground horrified me, my love. That moment felt like a re-run of the day my husband died 10 years ago. He fell and never got up again. When I saw that you were not moving I was terrified I’d lose even you. I kept thinking ‘not again, not again’. It was awful”, her voice is broken now: “please, never, never, do that again, love”, he looks at her very sweetly: “I won’t. I will always be there for you, my love. I promise”. The music is over. Standing on the dance floor he hugs her long and tightly, then they kiss.
  * During the dance, Spiros’ parents get up from their table and walk away. They are clearly upset about their son’s and Louisa’s behavior: “ntropi’, angliki poutana*”. Spiros and Louisa are still dancing and don’t notice that. Many other people do notice and hear those comments, including Dimitra and their good friends the Petridis and the Stephanides who happen to be sitting nearby. Dimitra walks up to the Halikiopoulos. They talk for a while, then Spiros’ parents leave and Dimitra returns to their table, Larry has been watching the scene: “they are very unaccepting of mother and Spiro. I don’t think they realize how much Spiro is hurt because of that”, Dimitra nods: “I can imagine. He really loves his parents. That’s why I talked to them. I explained that even though our marriage is over, we are still in very good terms and I am happy for Spiro’s happiness with your mother”, “I admire you for that remarkably mature attitude, Dimitra”, the other Durrell children nod, she looks at them and smiles: “thank you all, but I do have my not-so-noble reasons”, Larry smiles: “we know about Christo. That doesn’t change the fact that your position is being very modern, Dimitra”, she smiles: “well, Spiro’s parents instead accept neither our separation, nor your mother. I have told them that Louisa is very nice and a fantastic stepmother to their grandchildren. And they should get to know her because she is part of their family now. Unfortunately, I couldn’t change their mind. They can’t accept her. They are very upset”, Larry nods: “they will come around eventually, for now let’s not tell about this episode to those lovebirds. It’d spoil their happiness”, he smiles: “look at them”. The music has ended and Spiros and Louisa are kissing on the dance floor, Margot goes all mushy: “aww, sooo sweet!”, Dimitra nods: “yes, very sweet”, Leslie smiles: “yea, buckets of molasses, all around us”, he is looking around. They see that Gerry and Galini are not noticing anything. They are in their own world right now, hugging and exchanging soft innocent kisses. They all smile.

(*trnsl: shame, English whore)

  * Louisa and Spiros return to the table. Mihalis and Katherini have fallen asleep on the benches. Louisa smiles: “aww, so sweet!” then she sits down next to Dimitra: “I was thinking, since Christo arrives tomorrow, why don’t we give you some privacy? Mihali and Katherini can stay with us for a few days. They have been at our house many times and they seem pretty comfortable there”, “that is so nice of you to offer, Louisa. I like the idea, thank you!”, they smile at each other, Dimitra adds: “it will also allow us to break the news to them gradually. There have been many changes in their lives lately. Now another big change is coming. I hope they will be fine with it”, “I am sure they will. Just like they have got used to Spiros and me. Even Mihali seems happy now”. 
  * Dimitra goes to her house and packs a few things for her children. Then Leslie and Spiros pick up the sleeping children and carry them to the car. Larry drives a rather full car back home, with all of the Durrell and Halikiopoulos children. Dimitra leaves and goes to her house: “good night everyone”. The house guests hang around the dance floor, waiting for the car to return. Louisa and Spiros sit on a bench, waiting for Larry too. As they wait, they coo sweetly, then they kiss, what else? 

  * Back home. Margot greets them: “all is organized. We have set up the spare beds. Mihali’s in Gerry’s room. Katherini’s in mine”, Louisa smiles: “thank you!”. All is good for the new enlarged, happy, family.
  * That night they are all asleep when Katherini starts crying. Spiros and Louisa go to Margot’s room. Margot is sitting on Katherini’s bed, hugging her: “she had a bad dream. And when she woke up she did not recognize the room and got scared”, Spiros sits on Katherini’s bed: “ela mikri’ mou*”, he holds her in his arms and kisses her: “it’s all good, koukla. Your bampaka is here. You and Mihali are staying with us for a few days. We will have lots of fun together. Do you like the idea?”. Katherini looks around. She sees Margot and Louisa: “yes, I like it bampaka’”, “good girl, go back to sleep now, koukla mou”, he kisses her again and puts her down. Spiros and Louisa return to their bedroom.

(*trnsl: Come, my little one; koukla = doll; mou = my; bampaka = daddy)


	8. The lake of lilies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Christos is here  
Birthday picnic

  * The next morning, they all have breakfast together, then Spiros leaves his children with Louisa and picks Dimitra up. They drive to the docks. He waits in the car while she waits by the dock for the ferry to unload its passengers. 
  * Dimitra is waiving her hand: “Christo, ime edo!”, he walks towards her, looking very happy: “Dimitra, agapi mou!”, they kiss and hug and kiss, for long, happy to be finally reunited, “mou elipses, Dimitra”, “kai esi, Christo, para poly”. They kiss again. People are looking at them. Puzzled. More gossips are being alimented right now. Then Dimitra and Christos turn towards Spiros who is watching them, smiling. Christos seems very surprised to see him there and lets go of Dimitra, “don’t worry agapi mou, Spiro knows we are together. He is fine with that. Haven’t you read my letter?”, “no I haven’t received one in a while”, “well, Spiro and I have broken up. He has moved in with Louisa Durrell. We are still in good terms. He knows about us. He is here to help with your baggage, agapi mou”, she kisses him again. They walk to the car, “yassou Christo, kalosirtes piso stin Kerkyra”, “efcharisto’, Spiro”, the two men shake hands, then they load Christos’ baggage in the car. People are really watching this with great curiosity, now. Spiros drives back to town. Dimitra and Christos sit on the backseat hugging. They kiss again. As he drops them off, Spiros helps carry the baggage into the house. He puts the suitcases in the bedroom that used to be his and Dimitra’s, then: “have fun, lovers!”, then he leaves. Dimitra and Christos smile sweetly and walk into the house their arms around each other’s lower backs. Spiros drives back to Louisa.

(trnsl: Christo, I am here!; Dimitra, my love!; I missed you Dimitra; me too, Christo, very much; hello Christos, welcome back to Corfu; thank you. Note: Kerkyra is the Greek name for Corfu)

  * The next day, Louisa is sitting at the kitchen table with Gerry, helping him with his French homework: “come on, Gerry, stop looking out of the window. Concentrate on this. The sooner you finish this, the sooner you can go out to your animals”, “all right mom: “je suis naturaliste, j‘aime les animaux”. Larry walks in. Spiros is sitting in a corner, reading a book “this Jane Austen was a good writer, you were right, love, but the plot seems a bit convoluted”. Larry smiles: “I couldn’t agree more with your assessment, Spiros, not my favorite type of story but she was a very good writer”, Louisa intervenes: “well, I like the story too”. Larry smiles: “speaking of writers, I have a surprise for you Professors Halikiopoulos and Durrell”, he hands Spiros and Louisa a few copies of the daily paper: “your philosophy of love is published!”. Louisa smiles happily: “how lovely, congratulations, love. And congratulations to the writer too!”, she kisses Spiros, then she kisses Larry’s cheek. Gerry nods: “yea congratulations!”, then he gets up and tries to go out of the door, “go back to your homework, young man, no sneaking out yet!”, “yes mother… elle est naturaliste…. et je m’ennuie…”.

(trnsl: I am a naturalist, I love animals; she is a naturalist… and I am bored…) 

  * Larry pulls money out of his pocket: “and this is the payment from the paper, half each?”, “sure”, Spiros takes their half and puts it in the jar in the kitchen: “for household expenses”, Larry does the same with his half: “for a truly rich household, then”. They all smile.

  * Three days later. Louisa, Spiros, and all of the children are on the veranda, having tea and biscuits. Spiros and Louisa are sitting next to each other. He has his arm on her shoulders. She is leaning on his shoulder, holding his hand in hers. They look happy and relaxed. The 6 children are drinking tea and eating biscuits and scones with jams. Dimitra and Christos arrive on foot. They all get up to greet the new arrivals. Louisa makes a welcoming smile: “welcome to our house! Please join us for tea”, Katherini runs: “mama’, mama’, ise edo!”, “yassou mikri’ mou, ela na su filisso”. Dimitra picks her up and kisses her, then she goes to Mihalis and kisses him too, then: “Mihali, Katherini, can I introduce my friend Christo?”. Both children look at him shyly: “yassou, Christo!”, “yassou pedia!”. 

(trnsl: mom, mom, you are here!; hello my little one, come I’ll kiss you; yassou = hello; pedia = children)

  * Mihalis looks perplexed. He turns to Gerry: “is he ‘friend’ to mama’ the same way Louisa is ‘friend’ to bampa’?”. He is pointing at Spiros and Louisa, who are standing with their arms around each other’s lower backs. Gerry looks at the grown-ups for help. He does not know what to answer. Spiros replies: “may be, agori mou. Would that be a concern?”, “not really, I am used to it now. it’s not bad that you love Louisa. You were right bampa’, she is very nice”, “glad you think so now, Mihali”, “and I know that you are still my dad. We still have fun, even if you have Louisa. So if now mama’ has Christo, I know she will still be my mama’”. Dimitra hugs him: “of course, I will always love you, Mihali, moro’ mou”, he is annoyed now: “I am not a baby mama’…”, “I know I know, but to me you are”. Louisa smiles. She has been through that with Gerry, not that long ago…

(trnsl: bampa’ = dad; agori mou = my boy; moro’ mou = my baby)

  * Katherini is looking at Christos: “do you love mamaka the way bampaka loves Louisa?”, “I do, is that bad, mikri’?”, “not if you can make scones like Louisa”. They all laugh. Christos smirks: “I may need baking lessons, Mrs. Durrell”, “happy to, any time, and please, do call me Louisa”, “and me Christo”. 

(trnsl: mamaka = mommy; bampaka = daddy; mikri = little one, feminine form) 

  * They all sit down around the table of the veranda. Louisa and Spiros serve tea then they sit down too. He puts his arm around her shoulders. She holds his hand with hers. They all chat amicably, “Christo my old friend, I am happy that you are back in Kerkyra. Are you here to stay?”, he looks at Dimitra and smiles sweetly: “yes…”, Dimitra looks at Christos happily: “he has found a job at the Corfu Town’s city office”, “excellent news. Those are very good jobs”, “Christos nods: “yes, well paid and not too onerous. I will only work mornings”. Gerry senses that the adults may want to talk without the children: “Mihali, Katherini, how would you like to help me feed my new tortoise? It’s its meal time”, “yea! yea!”. They run to Gerry’s zoo. 

  * Louisa sighs: “well, that was not too bad…”, Spiros, still hugging Louisa, agrees: “it was easier than I thought. That’s good”. Dimitra nods: “Spiro, Christo and I have talked about the best approach with the children”.
  * Louisa and her children decide to leave them to their discussion. It’s a Halikiopoulos family matter, after all. Louisa smiles: “why don’t we leave you to this? I will clear up the tea dishes now”. Spiros sweetly kisses her: “I will help you in a bit, love”, “don’t worry, love, you should continue your conversation while Mihalis and Katherini are with Gerry. I can take care of this”, Leslie gets up: “I can help!”, “no need to, son. They are not many dishes, I can do them alone. Thanks for offering to help, tough”, Louisa goes to the kitchen. Larry goes back to his room to work. Margot and Leslie go off for a walk.
  * Dimitra begins: “I think we should ease them into Christo’s presence in the house and in my bedroom. After all, until not long ago that was mom’s and dad’s bedroom. So, I think Christo should rent a room nearby. He can spend the day with us, but sleep there. Then we may gradually have one night once in a while that he stays with us. What do you think Spiro?”, “It seems a very reasonable gradual approach, Dimitra. And you can gauge the progression based on the children’s response. They may be fine with Christo just moving in at some point. It may not need to be all that gradual. And on some days, they can stay with us and give you two privacy. They seemed pretty happy here these past few days. As you know they get along with Louisa and her children”, “yes they tell me so too”. Spiros, Dimitra, and Christos, continue discussing the details of Christos’ transition to Dimitra’s household until they have a plan.

  * Then Dimitra walks up to the sea wall: “what a wonderful view”. Christos, still sitting at the table with Spiros, is looking at her lovingly. Spiros smiles: “I am happy the two of you are reunited, Christo, you both look very happy”, he smiles: “we are”, “I can see that, but you seem not to manifest it to her”, “these things are better left to private moments”, “that is a common way of thinking in Greece. But… why hide love? I have learned with Louisa that nothing in life can be as fulfilling as love. Our love is the only thing that can truly give me happiness. Hence, I have decided I will never hide my love for her”, “I can see it, and it is beautiful Spiro, but we are not all like you”, “you see, I was not ‘like me’ either. I have changed with Louisa. Now I never allow her to wonder whether or not I love her. I tell her and show her so much that she always knows. That makes her happy. If she is happy, I am happy”, “yes, I understand that”, “well, here is my advice for you, my old high school friend”, he looks towards Dimitra: “If you love her, show it, hug her, kiss her, tell her, every day, many times a day. Don’t hold back. She will love you more for that. Embrace love. It’s the best thing that can happen to you…”. Spiros smiles.
  * Christos sits quietly for a while. Then he gets up. He walks up to Dimitra, hugs her from behind and kisses her neck: “Dimitra, agapi mou, s’agapo’ para poly’, to xeris”, she seems surprised, pleasantly so. She turns around and looks at him sweetly: “kai ego, s’agapo’ poly’”. They hug and exchange a long kiss. Spiros smiles. In that moment Louisa exits the house, wearing an apron. She sees them kissing: “oh, that’s sweet”, she goes near Spiros. He gently grabs her waist and has her sit in his lap. They kiss, “I love you Louisa, you look beautiful with that apron”, she laughs sweetly: “I don’t believe that for a moment, my liar, but I love you too”. They kiss again. A long love kiss.

(trnsl: Dimitra, my love, I love you very much, you know it; me too, I love you very much)

  * Leslie and Margot approach the house and see the four of them kissing. Leslie smirks: “as if mother and Spiro were not enough. Now we have two couples of lovebirds”. Margot laughs: “let’s take another long walk, Leslie”. They turn around… 

  * Saturday September 3rd. Louisa wakes up to the early morning light entering their bedroom. Spiros is still asleep next to her. She watches that face she loves so much and slowly leans towards him. She kisses his lips softly. He stirs gently and keeps sleeping. She kisses him again. He feels her lips on his and opens his eyes. He smiles sweetly and wraps his arms around her, then with thick, sleepy voice he whispers: “good morning, my love”, she looks at him lovingly: “kalimera*, happy birthday, agapi mou”, she kisses him again, he smiles: “thank you, my love, the best birthday in my life”, she smiles: “how can you say that, already? The day has only just begun!”, he hugs her tightly: “waking up here with you kissing me. Nothing can beat this”, she smiles sweetly, leans forward and gives him another soft kiss. He kisses her back, gently parting her lips with his tongue. She happily responds to it, their tongues exploring each other. They kiss more and more passionately. She undoes the buttons of his pajamas’ top and pushes it off him. Then she kisses his chest, giggling as his curly black hair tickles her nose. He removes her pajama's top too and kisses her neck and her breasts, stopping on her nipples with gentle sucks. She moans softly. Then she notices the suspicious looking ‘tent’ in his pajama’s bottom. She giggles: “someone is up”, he laughs: “ready for action, my love”, he gives her another long sensual kiss: “your fault, you really turn me on”, she smiles at him very sweetly, then she reaches inside his pajama’s bottoms with her hand. She slowly moves it on his erection. He moans and closes his eyes, enjoying that sensation. She gives him a long sensual kiss. His moans become deeper. She continues moving her hand, squeezing gently to increase his sensation. He moans more deeply, clearly appreciating that. She continues moving her hand for a while, accelerating the rhythm gradually. He keeps moaning, his breath becoming quicker and quicker, his hips moving in synchrony with her hand, until he makes a deep groan and floods her hand. She continues moving her hand on him slowly, until he comes down from his high. He opens his eyes and looks at her lovingly, she smiles sweetly and whispers: “happy birthday”, then she gives him a long loving kiss. Then she reaches for a handkerchief and cleans him up. She removes his pajama’s bottoms: “these will need washing later”, he makes a naughty smile, then he reaches under her pajamas: “after I am done with you, these will need washing too”, he reaches inside her underwear and begins touching her. She smiles at him sweetly and kisses him again: “not if you remove them first”, he smiles and takes her pajamas and knickers off. He continues touching her, gently stroking her naked body. He stimulates her sex with his fingers, while gently massaging her clitoris with his thumb. She moans and reaches for his sex again. For a while they kiss and touch each other until they are both very aroused. He leans over her and enters her. He moves on her, tenderly and lovingly at first, gradually increasing the rhythm of their lovemaking until they both reach climax. Then they lay on the bed, content and relaxed, their arms around each other.

(*trnsl: kalimera = good morning; agapi = love; mou = my)

  * When they finally join the children, they are all up. Louisa hugs Leslie: “happy birthday, baby”, he hugs her back: “thank you, mother”, Margot giggles: “a 20-year-old baby”, Louisa laughs, still hugging Leslie: “you will always be my baby. All of you, no matter how old you get, are my babies”, Gerry chuckles: “well, at least it’s not only me you call baby, mother”, they all laugh. Spiros smiles: “happy birthday, baby Leslie!”, he laughs: “happy birthday to you, Spiro!”, he looks surprised, “mother has told us it’s your birthday today, baby Spiro”, he chuckles: “definitely not a baby anymore, even though you may want to know that looking like a baby comes with advantages”, he winks at the children, then he walks up to Louisa, wraps his arms around her, and makes a silly sulking pouting baby face. She smiles at him sweetly and kisses him. Spiros turns towards Leslie: “learn your lesson, my friend, baby faces are very liked by women”, Louisa swats his shoulder. He laughs and looks at her sweetly: “it’s the truth!”, Larry laughs: “absolutely, I can confirm that”, Gerry sounds very interested now and makes a baby face too: “like this?”, Margot nods: “that looked pretty good baby brother, you should try it on Galini”, they all laugh, Gerry blushes. Louisa sees that, smiles, and steers the conversation to more practical matters: “let’s make a special breakfast for our two birthday boys, then. What would you like?”, Spiros smiles: “I’d be happy to make pancakes or omelets for everyone”, Louisa grabs his hand, drags him to a chair, and makes him sit on it: “you just sit here and relax, love, it’s your birthday, I will make breakfast. Just let me know what you’d like”, he makes a silly face: “I don’t think I can say it publicly”, she blushes violently and gently slaps his arm: “I am talking about breakfast!”, he makes a naughty face and laughs: “me too!”. Now she is really blushed, swats his arm, and screams: “Spiro!”. Spiros and the children all laugh.
  * Margot gets up: “I know what brother baby Leslie likes”, he laughs: “really?”, Larry smirks: “how can you? He eats like a pig. He likes everything!”, they all laugh, then Margot turns towards Leslie: “yes, brother, you like all kinds of food, but for breakfast you _really_ like Indian”, he laughs: “very true!”, Margot smiles: “then I will make Indian food for breakfast”, then she turns towards her mother: “meanwhile feel free to deliver on Spiro’s request, mother, just please do remember there are minors in the room”, the children all laugh, Louisa blushes again, Spiros laughs out loud: “I was only joking! I’ll be very happy with Indian breakfast. Living with you folks has converted me to Indian cuisine”.

  * After breakfast, Louisa goes upstairs and returns with two wrapped gifts: “for you, son, from Spiro and me”, Leslie takes it, looking excited. He opens it and makes a happy smile: “the hunter’s magazine!”, Spiro explains: “it is a subscription. You will receive a monthly issue for 12 months”, Leslie hugs him and his mother: “thank you so much!”. Then Louisa gives Spiros the other gift. He opens it and makes a very happy face: “a new leather cover for the steering wheel of my car!”, he hugs her tightly and gives her a long kiss: “thank you so much, my love”, then Gerry gives Leslie a wrapped box. It’s very heavy: “from the 3 of us, brother”, he opens it: “ammunitions for my guns! Thank you!!”, then Larry gives Spiros a wrapped gift, with a smirk: “from us, Spiro”, he opens it and laughs out loud. He is holding a set of very sexy silk woman garter lingerie in his hands: “the best gift, thank you all!!”, Margot makes a naughty smirk: “along the lines of your earlier breakfast request, Spiro…”, the children and Spiros all laugh. Louisa laughs too, but she is really very blushed. Spiros sees that and gives her a loving kiss.

  * Louisa, still blushed, steers the conversation away from that topic: “so today we are going on a picnic to celebrate our birthday boys”, Spiros looks at her making a pouting face: “not babies?”, she laughs and kisses him softly: “yes, sweet babies”, then she continues: “I have bought all of the ingredients to make food we can take along. Margot, Larry, and Gerry, I’d need your help while our two birthday bo... I mean, babies, relax”, Larry smiles: “and I have bought wine”, Gerry is curious now: “where are we going?”, Louisa smiles: “I don’t know. Spiro says he knows a nice place and we are to trust him”, Spiros makes one of his wide happy smiles: “you will like it, I promise. You should pack your bathing costumes and even your water sampling equipment, Gerry”, the boy makes a happy face: “really? Thank you so much Spiro!!”. They prepare all they need, put it in large baskets and load them in the car. Then Spiros drives a very full car to his chosen location. He takes the road towards the north end of the island and after more than an hour he takes a secondary road. Gerry makes a big smile: “is this Lake Antiniotissa Spiro?”, “it is! The lake of lilies, in English!”, he claps his hands: “this is so great, thank you so much, Spiro, I have been wanting to come here ever since Theo has told me it has a very interesting fauna!”, Spiros smiles: “I know, you asked me about it at some point. And it is a very nice place for a picnic. The beach is very beautiful and it is edged by several olive trees and willows. We can place our blankets in their shade, so that your very white English skins will not sunburn”, Louisa leans towards him and gives him a loving kiss: “you are always so considerate, love, thank you!’, he smiles at her sweetly: “of course!”.
  * At the lake Spiros keeps driving along for quite some time, until he takes a tiny rural road that leads to a secluded small beach. They are alone there. They all get off the car, Louisa looks around: “this is so lovely!”, Spiros hugs her: “not as lovely as you”, she smiles sweetly. They kiss. Margot smiles: “awwww, you are always so romantic!”. Meanwhile her brothers have all stripped down to their bathing shorts and are running towards the water. They jump in and begin splashing each other, having lots of fun. Spiros, Louisa, and Margot lay several blankets on the sand, and put the picnic baskets on them. Then Margot removes her dress, and runs into the water, wearing her bikini, joining her brothers. Spiros and Louisa smile. He turns towards her: “shall we join them?”, she blushes: “oh, I don’t know, I always feel so embarrassed when I wear my bathing costume”, he hugs her and gives her a loving kiss: “embarrassed with me, since when?”, she giggles and looks at him sweetly: “not with you, you know that!”, he makes a naughty smile and gives her a kiss: “I do! Then why would you feel embarrassed? There’s nobody else here. I have intentionally chosen this beach because it is isolated”, he gives her another kiss, then he begins unbuttoning her dress. She blushes: “Spiro, my children may be watching!”, he laughs: “you dirty minded lady! I am only helping uncovering your bathing costume. You are wearing it under your clothes, aren’t you?”, she laughs: “I am...”, “then I shall continue”, then he makes a naughty smile: “as you know, I do love undressing you…”, she giggles. Meanwhile, he is done unbuttoning her dress and takes it off her. She is wearing a very, very, covering bathing costume, with long sleeves and long pants. He laughs: “that leaves everything to the imagination!!”, she laughs: “well, _you_ should be able to imagine the rest”, he laughs too. Then he takes off his own clothes, revealing his one-piece tank top and shorts: “and you should know what’s under this!”, he wraps his arms around her, bringing their hips very close and rubbing himself against her. She giggles: “behave, love…”, he kisses her lovingly: “mmmm, I need a dip in cold water now!”, she chuckles: “so do I…”.
  * He grabs her hand and begins running towards the water. She runs with him laughing: “slow down!!”, they reach the water and he continues running, dragging her along into deep water, until they are both completely wet. She is laughing hard now. She begins swimming towards her children, Larry smiles: “hello mother, happy Spiro has convinced you to join us, for a change”, she laughs: “yes, you can thank him”, then she turns around. Spiros is not in sight. Her face changes from laugh to worry: “where is Spiro?”, the children look around. He is nowhere to be seen. Margot looks worried too: “can he swim?”, Louisa sounds very apprehensive now: “I thought so, but now I am not so sure!”, she begins shouting: “Spiro, Spiro! Where are you?”, sounding really very worried. Then she suddenly gives a very, very, loud scream. In that moment Spiros reemerges right under her, lifting her up almost completely outside of the water, then making her splash right back down. The children all laugh very loudly. She screams and turns towards him: “Spiro!!!!!”, he is laughing. She swims towards him, splashing water to his face: “that was not funny, I was very worried!”, the children and Spiros keep laughing. He grabs her waist, pulls her towards him, and gives her a long kiss. She relaxes in his arms, he kisses her again, then: “I love you, my beautiful mermaid”, Margot smiles: “awwww!”, Louisa looks at him, her eyes very sweet now, her voice still upset: “you’ve scared me, love, I thought you had drowned! Don’t you ever do that again!”, he holds her tightly and kisses her again: “fine, I promise, I am sorry, my love”, she looks at him with loving eyes: “why is it that I can’t stay angry with you?”, he smiles: “that’s because I am so very lovable”, she chuckles: “lovable indeed, but not very modest”, he makes a silly pouting face, she laughs and kisses him. He turns towards the children and winks: “told you, it always works!”. She swats him. They all laugh.

  * After much swimming they sit on the blankets and eat their food. Leslie talks with a full mouth, holding a samosa in one hand and a pakora in the other: “this is wonderful, mother. Thank you for a great birthday picnic!”. Larry pours wine and they all eat and drink, quite happy. Then Larry grabs a ball: “who wants to play volleyball?”, Gerry smiles: “not me, I am going to check out the shores for wildlife”, “make sure you wear your hat or you will sunburn, dear”, he rolls his eyes: “yes, mother”, he grabs his gear and goes into shallow waters, wearing his large hat and holding a small net, Louisa smiles: “the usual young naturalist”. Margot and Leslie get up and join Larry. Spiros grabs her hand: “let’s play too”, they join the children and play for quite some time. After a while, Louisa stops: “enough playing for me for now” then she walks towards the blankets. Spiros follows her, she turns: “you can continue playing, if you wish, love”, he puts his arms around her from behind: “I’d much rather snuggle up with you on those blankets, love”, she smiles, turns around, and happily returns his hug. They exchange a long kiss. Then they sit on the blankets. Spiros lays down, his head on a pillow. She lays next to him, her head in the crook of his neck. Her arm on his chest. He wraps her in a loving embrace and they both doze off, lulled by the sound of the children’s laughter. They have been asleep for several minutes when Margot, Larry, and Leslie approach the blankets too. They see them sleeping, hugging each other. Margot makes a very sweet smile and whispers: “that is so bloody romantic”, Leslie smiles: “it sure is”, Larry smiles too: “the usual lovebirds. Why don’t we go for a walk so that we don’t disturb them?”, Margot nods: “nice idea, brother”.
  * In that moment Gerry arrives running, holding something in his hands and looking very, very, excited: “look what I’ve caught!!”. He reaches the blankets and trips, accidentally launching the content of his hands towards the sleeping Spiros and Louisa. A water snake lands right onto her face. She wakes up and screams, making the snake sliver onto Spiro’s face. He wakes up too. He feels something wet on his face and jumps up, shaking his head. She jumps up too and looks at the blanket behind her. She sees the water snake and starts laughing: “Gerry, that can only be yours!”. The boy looks very contrite: “I am so sorry mother, I’ve tripped…”, meanwhile the others are laughing. Louisa laughs too, grabs the snake, and returns it to Gerry. Larry looks horrified: “put that horrible thing back where it came from, brother!”, then he looks at their mother: “seriously mother, I don’t know what went wrong with this child!”, Louisa chuckles: “it’s only a water snake, Larry. It’s very innocuous”, Larry looks directly at Gerry: “well, you’d better put that dirty thing the hell away from me, brother”. They all laugh. Gerry puts the snake in one of his jars and goes back to the water. The others sit down on the blankets. Margot laughs: “so much for us walking away quietly to avoid waking you up, lovebirds”, Spiros smiles: “well, after the excitement I am ready for another snooze”. He lays down. Louisa lays down next to him: “me too”. Larry winks at his siblings: “and we should go on our walk”. They all walk away. Spiros reaches for Louisa and wraps his arms around her: “mmm I so love cuddling with you, my love”, she leans with her head in the crook of his neck, hugging his chest: “me too, love”, they fall asleep again. The children return after almost an hour and find them still asleep, in that very romantic position. Margot smiles: “Dr. Petridis is correct. Those two can give one diabetes…”

  * That evening they are all tired after the long day at the beach and retire to their bedrooms early. Spiros is already in bed, reading a book, sitting with his back against the headboard. Louisa exits the bathroom, wearing her bathrobe, and joins Spiros in their bedroom. She sits on the edge of the bed, looking at him. He looks up from his book: “what?”, she smiles lovingly at him: “I hope you’ve enjoyed your birthday my love”, he looks at her very sweetly: “I have, it was a very nice day. Lots of fun. Have you enjoyed it?”, Louisa smiles sweetly: “yes, it was lovely. I love it when we have good quality time as a family. It’s too bad your children could not be with us”, he lifts his hand and gently strokes her cheek: “it means we need to plan more family fun stuff on days that they are with us”, she smiles: “yes, we should do that soon”.
  * Then she leans towards him and gives him a long kiss. He happily returns it. She looks at him sweetly: “the family day was fun, but it did not leave much alone time for the two of us”, he smiles sweetly: “well, we are alone now”, he pulls her towards him and gives her another long kiss. She makes a naughty smile now and gives him a more sensual kiss, her tongue darting in his mouth. Then she gets up and stands next to the bed, with a funny, naughty, _and_ blushed face. He looks perplexed. She takes her bathrobe off. She is wearing the very sexy lingerie her children have got him for his birthday, the garter holding thigh-high black stockings. She gives him a sexy (yet blushed) look. He looks back at her. His mouth wide open. Speechless for several seconds, then: “this must be the best birthday gift I have ever received!”, she smiles sweetly: “the lingerie?”, he reaches with his arms and pulls her towards him: “the whole package, the lingerie and its content!”, she giggles and gives him another long kiss. He lifts the bedsheet and lets her in, next to him. She looks down and sees a suspicious-looking bulge in his pajamas. She giggles. He follows her gaze and giggles too: “well, what did you expect? You suddenly show up looking like a sexy Greek Goddess!”, he gives her a long kiss: “I truly am the luckiest man on earth”, she looks at him sweetly and laughs: “…and a real charmer”, he makes a naughty smile: “that comes easy with such a beauty”, he kisses her again, very sensually now, then: “…a very sexy beauty”, she giggles again and kisses him back. He begins touching her body, stroking her lightly. She responds with several shivers, while inducing shivers in him too, softly caressing his body with her nails. He reaches for her sexy knickers: “mmmm as much as I love admiring you in these, there’s nothing I want more right now, than to take them off you…”, he puts his hands in them and begins massaging her gently and slowly at first, then more and more decisively. She moans, reaches for his erection, and begins massaging him. He moans too. They continue stimulating each other for quite some times. Then they undress each other and make love, very passionately, until they both reach climax, with deep sighs. They have been noisier than usual today. Larry, reading a book in bed in his bedroom next door to theirs, has heard them. He makes a smirk, turns off his oil lamp, and falls asleep.
  * Afterwards, they lay on the bed, hugging tenderly. “Definitely the best birthday gift I have ever received”, she smiles sweetly: “I liked it too”, he gives her a naughty look: “we will have to put it to good use, then”, she giggles: “I don’t see why not”, he gives her a loving kiss: “such a good idea, your children, I should thank them”, she gently slaps his chest then looks up at him with very stern eyes: “don’t you dare, Spiro!”, he chuckles: “of course not. I was only joking, my love”, he kisses her again: “it will be our little secret…”. They both giggle and keep kissing each other, cuddling in bed lovingly, until they fall asleep.
  * The next morning, breakfast time. Larry has a knowing smirk on his face: “good morning, lovebirds. I gather you’ve enjoyed your birthday gift, Spiro!”, The children all giggle. Louisa and Spiros both blush, but neither of them gives Larry any answers. Larry, makes a smug smile: “the loudest silence I’ve heard in a long time”, the children all laugh again. Louisa is really very blushed now: “enough teasing, Larry!”. She turns away from the table and busies herself preparing breakfast. Spiros remains quiet, joins Louisa, and helps her. He is also rather blushed. Margot looks at her brother and whispers: “yea, enough teasing, brother, leave them alone”. The children all smile sweetly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A couple of notes:
> 
> It seems the birthdays of all members of the family can be found on line except for Leslie's. I couldn't find Spiros' either. Only their years of birth. Not the specific day. So I have made them up. September 3 for both of them.
> 
> Lake Antiniotissa (the lake of lilies) is described in Gerald Durrell's books as a place where the family often had picnics.


	9. The trouble with the Halikiopoulos

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Spiros' parents are not sold yet  
The promise for a happy future

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not a very long chapter today. The next chapter is turning out to be very long and I did not want to interrupt that story.  
Lots of Greek today. Sorry if it makes it awkward to read. I have put all translations in foot notes. I hope this helps. I just thought that English dialogues with Spiros' parents would sound way too unrealistic. In a TV show I'd picture those dialogues with subtitles.  
Again, profuse apologies to all the Greeks out there are in order, for how badly I've mauled your beautiful language - I'd be happy to make corrections if anyone wishes to point out the errors.

  * A few days later, mid-September, Spiros decides to make a move on his parents. Louisa joins him on a day that he visits them, without warning. Louisa brings them several baked goods she has made, including her famous scones. She greets them smiling: “kalo’ apogevma kyrie kai kyria Halikiopoulos, ti kanete?”, they are clearly unhappy to see her. They deliberately ignore her and do not take her gifts: “yassou Spiro”, “mitera, patera, tha pinoume ena kafe’ mazi’?”. He leads Louisa to the kitchen, then, looking at her sweetly, he murmurs: “please sit down here, my love”, he takes the box with the baked gifts from her hands and puts it on the counter, then he starts making Greek coffee. His parents reach them in the kitchen: “mitera, patera, kathiste kai esis, tha ftiaxo kafe’ ego”, they reluctantly sit down, Louisa smiles at them: “pos pate?”, Spiros’ mother replies coldly: “poly’ kala’, efcharisto’”, “afta’ ta glyka’ ta ekana ego. Elpizo na sas aresoun”, she gets up and brings the sweets to the table. She opens the box and points at them: “biskota, scones, is there a Greek word for scones, love?”, “not really. Ine anglika’ glyka’, poly’ orea”, Spiros’ father intervenes spitefully: “ine dilitirio”, Louisa, looks at him with a sad smile: “den evala dilitirio, kyrie Halikiopoulos, ine kala’ glyka’”. 

(trnsl: good afternoon Mr. and Mrs. H, how are you?; mother, father, shall we drink a coffee together?; mother, father, you sit down too, I will make coffee; how are you?; very well, thank you; I have made those sweets. I hope you like them; they are English sweets, very good; they are poison; I did not put poison, Mr. H., they are good sweets)

  * Spiros brings the coffees. He puts them on the table, each with a glass of cold water: “na’, metrio gia mitera kai Louisa, skieto gia patera kai mena”. Then Spiros puts a few small plates and teaspoons on the table: “gia ta glyka’ pou ekane i Louisa”. Then he sits next to Louisa. They are all sitting around the kitchen table. His parents do not say a word. They just drink their coffee. Louisa smiles sweetly trying to break the silence: “oreo kafe’, Spiro”, “efcharisto’ Louisa”, Louisa picks up the box with the sweets and hands it towards his parents. She smiles at them: “tha thelate ena glyco’, kyrie kai kyria Halikiopoulos?”, they don’t answer and don’t take any sweets, “entaxi, opos thelete. Kai esy Spiro? Thelis ena glyco’?”. Spiros takes a scone: “efcharisto, Louisa”. He eats it while sipping his coffee. He looks at Louisa with very loving eyes: “ta scones sou ine poly’ nostima, agapi mou”, she smiles sweetly at him: “efcharisto’, agapi”, Spiros’ father looks at her quite upset: “min milate etsi se afto’ to spiti, amartoli’!”, “sygnomi, kyrie Halikiopoulos”, Spiros looks upset too: “don’t apologize Louisa, you said nothing wrong”, “calm down, love, let’s try to mend this”. He looks at her and his parents with sad eyes, then he speaks with upset voice: “just look at them, this seems unmendable to me”. 

(trnsl: middle level of sugar for mother and Louisa, no sugar for father and myself; for the sweets that Louisa made; nice coffee; thanks; would you like a sweet, Mr. and Mrs. H.?; fine, as you wish; And you Spiro? Would you like a sweet?; your scones are very tasty, my love; thank you, love; don’t talk like that in this house, sinners!; I apologize Mr. H.)

  * He gets up, takes her hand in his, and gently pulls her up her chair: “let’s go, Louisa”, she gets up: “perimene, Spiro”, she turns towards his parents: “ego agapo’ ton gio sou, kai Spiro me agapai, den borite na iste charoumenoi gia mas?”, Spiros’ father almost shouts now: “charoumenoi ya to ti? Ntropi’! i zoi’ sas ine amartoli’!”. He looks directly at Louisa: “kai ine diko’ sou lathos. O gios mas itan eftychos pantremenos me Dimitra prin apo’ esena!”, his mother agrees: “ntropi’, angliki poutana. Katastrepsate mia eftychismeni oikogeneia!”. Louisa looks upset, but she says nothing. Spiros looks at his mother with teary eyes, then he drags Louisa away, holding her hand. He is very upset now. With broken voice, he mumbles: “there is no point, love, let’s go before I answer that”, Louisa turns back and waves her hand. With a sad smile: “yassas”.

(trnsl: wait, Spiro; I love your son and your son loves me, can’t you be happy for us?; happy for what? Shame! Your life is sinful!; and it is your fault. Our son was happily married with Dimitra before you!; Shame, English whore. You have destroyed a happy family!; bye) 

  * As they walk towards the car, he is crying, with tears dropping down his cheeks. She puts her arm around his back: “I am so sorry, my love”. He can't help a loud sob. He puts his arm around her shoulders as they walk. His parents are watching through the window. Very disapproving. By the car, she looks at him with loving eyes, wipes his tears with her handkerchief, and kisses him softly: “you are upset, my love, it’s better that I drive”, he nods and hands the car keys to her. Then they get into the car and she drives them home. His parents look disapproving of this too. A woman driving?

  * That evening, after supper. They are all sitting in the living room, reading their post. Spiros has a book, but he is not reading. He is staring at the wall. Louisa too, looks distracted from the letter she is holding in her lap. Larry notices that: “you both look upset. Not your usual lovebird selves. What’s the matter? Did you have a row?”, Louisa reaches for Spiros’ hand on the sofa, then makes a sad smile: “we went to see Spiro’s parents today”, “oh… it didn’t go as you had hoped, did it?”, “I am afraid not, darling. They struggle to accept our relationship”. Spiros, visibly upset, intervenes with broken voice: “you are being too kind, Louisa. They _hate_ our relationship. They _hate_ you”, “I don’t think they do. They just hate what I represent to them”, “what?”, “your mistress who has destroyed your marriage and with whom you live in sin, outside of wedlock”. He still sounds and looks quite upset: “the term mitera* used was much worse”, “I know …”, he looks very sad and teary, she hugs him: “I am so sorry love, we did our best today. This clearly hurts you much more than Prue’s and Geoffrey’s disapproval bothers me. We shouldn’t give up. We should give your parents some more time, then try again. They will come around eventually”. She kisses him, he smiles sweetly: “you are right love, let’s just wait a few weeks, then try again. Thank you for being so patient and understanding”, they kiss again, “meanwhile you should continue to visit them on your own”. He looks at her with sad gaze: “oh, I don’t know about that. After today it would be very difficult”, “I know, but they are your parents. I lost mine years ago. Even with the disagreements we may have had, I still miss them and I wish I could talk to them again. Enjoy your parents while you have them, love”, they kiss.

(*trnsl: mitera = mother)

  * He smiles: “on a positive note, I was very impressed with your Greek today”, she smiles at him sweetly: “I was so nervous. It felt like an exam. Good thing your lessons are working, love”, Larry smiles: “a great professor, with the best teaching methods”, Leslie nods: “it’s the rewards, obviously”, they all laugh. Spiros looks at Louisa sweetly: “you have definitely earned more today, love”. They kiss. 

  * A few days later, it's evening. Spiros prepares Greek food for dinner. After dinner, they all play family games in the living room. One is similar to the game Brenda had them play a while back. When it’s Margot’s turn: “if you are in love with the person sitting next to you, kiss them now”. Spiros and Louisa kiss. They all smile. Margot is looking at them sweetly: “it feels that was such a long time ago”, “you kicked me out of your mother’s room that night, Larry”, they laugh, “you were already leaving Spiro”, “yea I am not the type who takes advantage of a drunk woman”, he looks at Louisa: “it is way more fun when she is sober”. Louisa blushes and gently slaps him on his shoulder. They all laugh. Larry smirks: “yea and later I had to send you right back into her arms”, Louisa smiles: “I think there are details of that day I still don’t know”, she looks at Spiros: “at some point you mentioned Larry asking you to leave and never return?!?!”, “yes mother, you were so hurt that I thought if the two of you had no future together you’d be better off without seeing him”, “that made me overcome my fear and talk to you, love”, she smiles sweetly: “well, I sure am very happy you did that”. They kiss.

  * That night Spiros and Louisa retire early, both claiming they are tired. Spiros looks at Louisa: “you look tired love”, Louisa yawns: “yes I did not sleep well last night. I kept waking up”, he yawns: “me too. Let’s go to sleep early then”. They get up and go upstairs. The children can see right through that again. Gerry makes a knowing smirk: “mmm, suddenly very tired eh?”, Leslie chuckles: “yea, right…”, they all laugh.
  * Meanwhile, Louisa and Spiros are standing in their bedroom, kissing passionately, “my love you are so beautiful, I can’t resist you”, she smiles at him very sweetly: “and you are pretty darn hard to resist too”, they undress each other, then lay on the bed, touching, kissing, hugging, making love… perfect, as always… Afterwards they lay quietly for a while, hugging each other. He talks to her with very sweet voice: “I love you so much, Louisa”, she answers also with very sweet voice: “and I love you”, he gives her a soft kiss and continues still with very sweet voice: “I am so happy with you, that sometimes I am afraid it’s all a dream”, she looks at him very lovingly: “a marvelous dream, my love. I am really happy you are here with me”, he hugs her tightly then speaks with loving voice: “I am very happy to be here too, my love. We had to wait so long for this happiness…”, he sounds naughty now: “that now I intend to enjoy it fully”, he hugs her and kisses her very passionately again, reaching with his hand between her thighs, she moans: “you seem to have bad intentions again, my handsome Greek seducer”, he smiles sweetly/naughtily: “you can bet on that my Anglo-Indian beauty”, they laugh softly, then they continue touching each other, more and more intensely. He sits up, she straddles him. They make love again.

  * A few days later, it is evening and they are all having dinner. Spiros has made moussaka’, Margot is very happy: “mm my favorite Greek food, thanks for making it Spiro!”, “my pleasure Margot. Had I known you liked it so much I would have made it sooner”, Louisa smiles: “I sometimes make it too, following a recipe I found in a book, but this is much, much, nicer, love”, Gerry nods: “yes, it is delicious”, “thank you Gerry, I have followed an old family recipe that my mother gave me the other day. She got it from her grandmother who had written it down watching her grandmother making it”, Leslie smiles: “wow, it really does go way back”, Larry agrees: “speaking of your family Spiros, how’s the situation with your parents?”, he looks sad now: “still difficult, Larry, but I am not giving up. Each time I see them I go on the topic. I keep telling them they need to accept that Dimitra and I are not going back together. That phase of our lives is over. We both have moved on and we are both happy with our current relationships”, Larry nods: “and the children are happy too. As grandparents that should ease some of the anxiety”, “I think it does”, “how about mother, are they softening on her?”, he puts his arm on her shoulders: “oh I don’t know about that, Larry. They still think she caused it all. I have told my mother she should be as upset with me as she is with her, after all it takes two to tango”, Larry smirks: “indeed!”, “well she says men are not to be blamed when a temptress lures them into sin. Such old-fashioned thinking...”, Larry nods: “it’s not just them. Sadly, that’s very common thinking”, Louisa smiles at Spiros sweetly: “don’t give up on your parents, love. Just keep that dialogue going. They will get there eventually”, “I will, love. Funnily enough, I now have helpers. Mihali and Katherini always talk about you very fondly, which makes for some odd conversations with their grandparents”, they all smile. Maybe the children will manage….

  * Saturday October first. The weather is still mild in Corfu. Every month Spiros and Louisa celebrate the recurrence of their very first day of love with a dinner date. Today they are celebrating their 4th month together. They are sitting at a tavern in town, having a romantic candle light dinner. “I still can’t believe my luck that such a lovely girl would fall for this ugly Greek”, she is looking at him sweetly: “you are being silly, love. You are very handsome”, he answers with a naughty smile: “I know…”, she laughs: “I thought so!”. They kiss, “these past 4 months have been the happiest in my life, I love you Louisa”, “I love you too, Spiro, very much. I am really happy you have moved in with us 4 months ago”. They kiss again.
  * Tonight, Spiros has more to celebrate than he lets Louisa know, for now. A date has finally been set for his and Dimitra’s divorce court hearing. It’s in 2.5 months, (mid-December). And things are looking good.
  * Earlier that day he has seen his lawyer friend Alecko: “I think you and Dimitra have very good chances of obtaining a divorce, Spiros. Your case has been assigned a multilingual British judge. He has been living in Greece for a long time and he has both Greek and British credentials. For this reason, he is usually assigned cases involving foreigners. You are lucky he is in charge of your and Dimitra’s hearing. He is known to have a very open mind about divorce”, “I think I know who he is. Him and his Greek wife were at the feast for the Litany of St Spyridon. They danced very nicely”, “yes it’s them”, “that’s great news Alecko, let’s toast”. They drink a Metaxa’, “Spiro, there is one more thing I wanted to mention: I have read your philosophy in the English paper”, he laughs: “I am surprised anyone would have read it. It was a kind of game between me and Larry”, “well, not only I have read it, I’ve also liked it, and so has Irene”, Spiros laughs, embarrassed: “well, happy you’ve liked it, my friend”, then he leaves to go and tell Dimitra the good news about their divorce. Christos is there too. They both look very happy at the news. They hug and kiss. Spiros smiles and leaves them: “yassas!”. 

  * Spiros walks straight to the jewelry store owned by his friend Kiriakos: “I’d like an engagement ring”, “that’s such great news Spiros. I am sure Mrs. Durrell will be very happy”, “well, I sure like to think so!”, they both laugh. In that moment, Christos walks in. When he sees that Spiros is looking at engagement rings he laughs: “it seems we are here for the same reason”. Kiriakos is not sure what to say. Spiros makes a happy smile: “that’s wonderful, Christo. Dimitra will be very happy. I hope we are granted a divorce soon so that you can propose to her. I can’t wait to propose to Louisa”. Kiriakos lets out a sigh of is relief… “Kiriako, my friend, Christo and I should get a group discount on the rings!”, “of course, my friends, as long as your girlfriends both agree to marry you two rascals!”, they all laugh.
  * The ring is ready the following week. Spiros picks it up and carries it in his pocket, to have it always ready. He wants to propose as soon as his divorce is finalized. 


	10. Hugh Jarvis is back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hugh is back and the outcome is unexpected.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> An important comment: I am not a psychiatrist and I know close to nothing about PTSD. What I wrote here and in subsequent chapters is the fruit of my imagination. If you are looking for medical information on PTSD this is NOT the place. We are all here just for the entertainment...

  * A few days later. It’s October 9th. The weather is still mild in Corfu, but the Summer is over. Less people are visiting the island and Spiros is not as busy with his taxi. He is awake, lovingly watching Louisa sleep next to him. She wakes up, “good morning my love”. They kiss, gently at first then more passionately. Louisa pants: “wow, that was a fiery good morning”, he smiles: “my love, I am having a ‘problem’”. He moves her hand towards his pelvis. She feels his erection. She smiles: “that’s one ‘big’ problem, my love, how did that happen?”, he answers sweetly: “I was just watching you sleep and thinking about our first time, 4 months ago”, she smiles sweetly: “well, let’s see what I can do to ‘help’ with your big problem”. She kisses him, then she gently pushes him to lay on his back. She helps him remove his pajama’s bottom, then she bends and gives many soft kisses to his ‘problem’. Then she takes it into her mouth. Spiros moans more and more deeply. She continues until he gently moves her head away and comes on his t-shirt. She lays back next to him and looks at him lovingly. He has his eyes closed and he is quiet for a while, then he looks at her with loving gaze: “my love I did not know you could do that”, she smiles sweetly at him: “neither did I. It was my first time”, he looks at her lovingly: “even for me”. She looks very surprised, almost skeptical: “really?”. He takes his soiled t-shirt off: “yes, the girls I dated before Dimitra were all very shy and with Dimitra things just never did get so intimate”, she smiles: “not even with ‘professional’ women?”, he looks at her serious: “I have never been with a prostitute, I don’t like that ‘use’ of women”, she is even more surprised now: “truthfully? You can tell me, you know”, he smiles sweetly at her: “yes, truthfully, my love, I wouldn’t lie to you”, she kisses him very lovingly: “if I didn’t love you so much already I’d say this makes me love you more than before”. They kiss, softly at first, then with increasing passion. He begins touching her, she moans, she touches him, he removes her pajamas, her underwear… they touch and stimulate each other for some time. Then they make love, and it’s _perfect_, as it always is between the two of them. 

  * They can take their time this morning. It’s Sunday (Oct 9th). Louisa’s children are all at home. Larry is in his room, Margot and Leslie are on the veranda, and Gerry is tending to his donkey, not far from Spiros’ car. Today Spiros is staying at home too. After their lovemaking and a hearty breakfast, he has decided to clean his car’s carburetor and do an oil change. He is almost done, tightening the last bolts, laying on the ground next to his car, in the dust. Louisa is standing next to him: “you will need a long bath after this, love”, he looks at her with a naughty smile: “if you join me in the bathtub we can make it an extra-long bath”, she laughs: “maybe I will, my love, the idea is tempting…”. She squats near him, he sits up, still on the ground behind his car. They kiss tenderly. “I love you, Spiro”, “I love you too, Louisa”.

  * In that moment, they hear the noise of a car. They look very surprised. The only other private car on the island is Hugh’s, but he has left many months ago and he has not been seen back since. Spiros is listening: “I recognize the noise of that bad carburation; this is definitely Hugh’s car”. 
  * The red sport car approaches and stops, about 50 meters from Spiros’ car. Hugh gets off. Louisa walks towards him. Spiros remains where he is, sitting on the ground, not visible behind his car. He is sure Louisa can take care of her past suitor. He listens in. Curious, why is Hugh back? 
  * “Hello Hugh, what a surprise. It has been a long time. I hope your wound has recovered”, “hello Louisa, yes, my wound is healed. Thanks for asking”. He seems embarrassed. He approaches her and looks at her with loving eyes: “I have missed you, Louisa, more than I ever thought I would. I kept thinking about our last meeting when you refused to go back to England with me”, “Hugh, I…”, he raises his arm and makes a tense smile: “let me finish, Louisa, please: “now I know I was wrong to ask you that. Of course, you’d refuse. My offer was not committing enough. It was my fault. I should have done this back then”, he pulls a jeweler’s box out of his pocket, opens it, and drops on his knee, “Louisa, will you…”, she shakes her head and speaks gently but firmly: “I won’t”, “but, I haven’t finished”, “you don’t need to, Hugh, I will not marry you”. Hugh looks really surprised, he was so sure this would work, “I don’t love you, Hugh”, his voice is upset now, he is on the verge of tears: “you used to care about me, Louisa”, “that was many months ago, and I never did love you. You know that. I told you even back then”, “Louisa, my love, if you say yes, I am sure you can learn to love me. I will be patient, I will wait for you”, “I am sorry Hugh, but that won’t happen”. He gets up with the ring still in his hand. He is visibly very upset. In that moment, Hugh realizes that Spiros’ car is there: “it’s him again, isn’t he? Spiros Amerikanos, that Greek troglodyte who hardly speaks English. His car is here. Why is he here with you? Why isn’t he with his family? Are you doing him? Is he doing you?” Hearing that offensive language about Spiros Louisa replies harshly: “that is none of your business, Hugh, I must ask that you leave our house, right now”.
  * Hugh abruptly changes. He angrily throws the engagement ring to the ground then he approaches Louisa. He suddenly covers her mouth with his hand and aggressively pushes her against the hood of his car. He pushes himself on her violently, holding her against the car with the weight of his body. He whispers to her ear: “now I will forage where that Greek has”. Then he presses his body against hers very hardly, with violent thrusting motions. With his other hand, he rips her clothes, grabs her in her intimate parts, and pushes with his pelvis against hers. There is no more love in his eyes. Gerry, Margot, and Leslie see the assault and start running towards them. Louisa struggles to push him back but he is too strong. She manages to bite his hand. He moves it away from her mouth. She screams: “no, no, no Hugh, no, stop Hugh, stop, stop, stop, help, help!”. Hugh slaps her hard: “shut up, whore”. He pushes his hand on her mouth again. Larry gets up and looks out of his bedroom window. Spiros gets up too, behind his car.
  * Hugh keeps pushing violently with his body against Louisa’s and is really very close to raping her now. He is holding his penis and is moving it towards her vagina, “let’s see how you like this now, Louisa”. In that moment, Spiros grabs Hugh from behind and punches him to the ground. 
  * Leslie arrives and holds him down twisting his arm behind his back. He knows the maneuver from his days as a policeman. Gerry and Margot also hold him down. Larry arrives too and also gets hold of Hugh. Leslie shouts: “go get the police!”, Spiros screams too: “and the doctor!” 
  * Gerry runs to town and calls the police. Then he runs to Dr. Petridis house.
  * Spiros is hugging Louisa: “Louisa, my love, how are you? What has that bastard done to you?”. She sobs in his arms, her face on his shoulder, shaking very hard. Her dress and underclothes are badly ripped and her body and face are covered in bruises and bleeding wounds. Holding her in his arms, Spiros looks at Hugh: “I will kill you, son of a bitch!”.
  * In that moment, two police cars arrive with sirens on. Hugh is arrested and taken away in one car. 
  * Spiros is still hugging Louisa. She is crying and shaking very violently now. Margot is hugging her too. The children look at their mother with tears in their eyes. They feel so helpless.

  * Doctor Petridis and Florence arrive. Florence runs to Louisa: “oh my God!”. A policeman takes the lead: “we will need witness reports and also a medical report, Dr. Petridis”, “yes of course I will write one after I visit her”. The policeman continues: “can we sit somewhere quiet in your house?”. Louisa is shaking so hard she can’t walk. Spiros picks her up and carries her. She wraps her arms around his neck and keeps sobbing as she leans her head against his shoulder. They all go to the living room. Spiros gently puts Louisa down on a sofa. She sits, still crying and shaking quite hard. He puts a blanket on her. He sits next to her and hugs her. She keeps crying and hugs his neck, with her face in his shoulder. He holds her lovingly, sweetly kissing and caressing her hair.

  * The policeman begins: “we will need an independent report from the doctor, the victim, and each of the witnesses. This means only non-witnesses can be present during each of your interviews. Mrs. Durrell, we will begin with you. Dr. Petridis and anyone who was present during the episode need to leave the room. Even you, Mr. Halikiopoulos. Spiros lovingly looks at Louisa who has stopped shaking but is still crying softly in his arms, desperate to stay and comfort her. Florence approaches: “I will stay here, Spiro”, “thank you, Mrs. Petridi”. Spiros gets up. Florence takes Spiros’ place on the sofa by Louisa and hugs her.

  * The policeman begins the interview: “I am sorry, but we need to do this right after the assault, Mrs. Durrell, when your memories are very fresh and before they can be contaminated by those of others. Can you tell us what you remember? Louisa, still crying, reports the assault with a weak shaky voice, “so you were never consenting to any sexual acts with Mr. Hugh Jarvis?”, “no, no, I wouldn’t”, “and you made that very clear?”, “yes!”, “how?”, “I told him to leave the house. Then, as he was assaulting me, I tried really hard to push him away from me, but I couldn’t. He was too strong... I bit his hand and I screamed, no, no, no, stop, stop, stop, help, help”. As she recalls those moments she is sobbing again in Florence’s arms, “I am very sorry Mrs. Durrell, I hope you understand I must ask these questions”, she nods, “one last question: was there sexual penetration during the assault?”, “no, but he was trying. Spiro stopped him just in time”. We are done. Thank you, Mrs. Durrell. We will transcribe your report and you can read it and sign it in a day or two. 

  * Florence holds Louisa as they leave the living room. Dr. Petridis is waiting outside: “Louisa, we should do the visit in your bedroom. Florence can be with you, if you wish”, Louisa answers with still faint, weak, voice: “yes… and Spiro…”, “of course, as you wish, we can wait for him”. They go upstairs.

  * The policeman calls: “next, we need a report from Mr. Halikiopoulos”. Spiros also describes what he has witnessed. “so for most of the episode you were behind your car?”, “yes”, “and you didn’t really see anything”, “only after she screamed and I got up I could see that he was assaulting her”, “are you sure she was not consenting?”, he answers with a stern voice: “I am sure”, “how?”, “she was screaming, no, stop, help”, he looks very upset now, “so you intervened to stop a violence”, “yes, what else would it be?”, “maybe you were jealous because she was making out with her ex and that’s why you punched Mr. Jarvis”, Spiros sounds really upset now: “she wouldn’t! She wasn’t! She was being assaulted by that son of a bitch! Had I not got there in time he would have raped her!” He is crying now... This is enough, Mr. Halikiopoulos. You can go now, thank you.

  * The police continue the interviews. Now it’s the turn of the Durrell children. They interview each of them separately. They all confirm that mother was being assaulted. She was not consenting. They are certain. She was fighting back, calling for help. And they just know she’d never consent to anything with Hugh. She loves Spiros.

  * Spiros goes upstairs to their bedroom. He is really worried about Louisa. She is sitting on the bed, still crying. Florence, sitting next to her, is hugging her, trying to calm her down. He sits next to her too and he hugs her: “I am here, my love”, she leans her face in his shoulder and continues crying in his arms. Dr. Petridis approaches: “now that you are here, Spiro, we can proceed. I am afraid this is not going to be easy, Louisa. I need you to know that you can tell me to stop any time. I will, but we should try to complete a visit, if you can. For the police, and for your own good. It is important. I need to determine whether you have internal damage”, crying softly, she nods: “I understand”.
  * “You should take all of your clothes off and pass them to me. You can lay on the bed and cover yourself with a sheet when you are done”. The doctor turns the other way. Spiros and Florence help Louisa. As she undresses she is crying and shaking again. Dr. Petridis writes a precise description of each piece of clothing, including all rips and stains. He puts the clothes aside, for the police. Then he approaches the bed: “now I need to uncover you and write a description of your injuries, Louisa”. She nods, still crying softly, holding, almost clinging, onto the hand of her Spiro, who is standing next to the bed, looking at her with loving sad eyes. As the doctor uncovers her, the extension of the bruising and wounds becomes apparent. Florence is watching, horrified. Spiros is still holding Louisa’s hand and is crying. Dr. Petridis writes: ‘extensive contusions (bruising) throughout the ventral surface of the body, at greater extent in the buccal, abdominal, pelvic, and vulvar regions’, then he adds numbers that identify the anatomical location of each injury. He continues writing: ‘large number of scratches and abrasions are also apparent, also localized mostly to the buccal, abdominal, pelvic, and vulvar regions, in addition to the upper leg (thigh) and torso. The color of the contusions and fresh blood marks are consistent with very recent violence, approximately 30 minutes’, “Louisa, can you please turn around?”, “he continues writing: ‘extensive bruising also on the dorsal aspect of the body. Several open, still partly bleeding, abrasions are also observed, consistent with recent violent contact with a sharp or hot metallic surface’. Louisa has stopped crying now. Spiros hasn’t. He can’t bear the sight. As he holds her hand, big tears are dropping down his cheeks…
  * Doctor Petridis covers her with the sheet: “Louisa now I’d need you to turn around again and I will proceed with my visit. This means I need to touch you, do you understand that?”, she answers with faint voice: “I do”. The doctor uncovers her abdomen and begins palpating it. As soon as he touches her, she begins shaking again. Her eyes are closed. Dr. Petridis stops: “open your eyes, Louisa, look at me”, she does, “I know this must feel very similar to Hugh’s assault. Louisa, it is important that you keep reminding yourself that this is a medical visit. I will be talking so that you can hear my voice as a reminder that the touches are from me. You also need to keep your eyes open at all times and look at the people around you, as a reminder that you are now safe, with people who love you”. Louisa looks at Spiros, “I am here with you, my love, you are safe with me”, “I know, love…”. Dr. Petridis nods: “are you ready?”, “yes”, he touches her abdomen, gently at first, then with the deeper typical palpating and tapping movements doctors use during their visits. He is also auscultating with his stethoscope. This time Louisa does not shake, except for brief shivers. She keeps looking at Spiros who is holding her hand, caressing her hair, looking at her, repeatedly saying: “you are safe my love, I am here with you”. Dr. Petridis asks: “does this hurt?”, Louisa’s voice is faint: “yes”, he pushes deeper: “this?”, “yes”, “more or less than before?”, “the same”… After completing the visit to her front, he has her turn around and visits also her back, especially over the lungs and the kidneys. After a while, Dr. Petridis steps back: “Louisa, I am done with the external visit, you were very good”.
  * “Now I need to do an internal visit. It will be very similar to the many visits you received when you were expecting and delivering your children. Would you prefer Spiro to leave now?”, she looks at Spiros, then speaks with weak voice: “please stay with me, love”, he answers sweetly: “of course, love”. “What about Florence, would you prefer her to leave?”, “no, not really”, “very well. Louisa, I need you to do the same as before. Keep reminding yourself that this is a medical visit, performed in the safety of your own bedroom, with people who love you. Is this clear?”, “yes”, “and continue keeping your eyes open, looking at the people around you”. Spiro, please continue talking to her, reminding her that she is safe and that you are here”. He arranges her legs on cushions for the visit, then he approaches with his hand: “Louisa, I am now going to insert my finger. Remember, this is Dr. Petridis performing a medical visit. You are safe”. As he slowly inserts his finger in her vagina, Louisa begins screaming: “no, no, no, Hugh, stop it, stop, stop, help, help!”, her eyes are closed now and her mind is re-living the traumatic assault. Dr. Petridis removes his finger and covers her with the sheet, “Louisa, this is Dr. Petridis, can you hear my voice? You are safe, open your eyes, look at us”. It doesn’t seem to help, Louisa keeps screaming: “no, no, no Hugh, stop, stop”, “Spiro, you try”, he is very upset now, his voice is broken: “Louisa my love, can you hear me? I am Spiro, I am here with you, my love. You are safe”, this time it works, Louisa stops screaming, Spiros’ voice has broken through the memory flashback, bringing her back to reality, “open your eyes, Louisa, look at me, my love”, she opens her eyes, still in a daze. Dr. Petridis takes over: “who can you see, Louisa?”, “Spiro”, “and who is Spiro?”, “my love”. Spiros smiles sweetly at her: “and you are safe with me, love”. She is crying now, Spiros, still holding her hand, is crying too. Dr. Petridis whispers: “Spiro, keep talking to her”, “my love, look at me, I am here with you, I love you”, she answers crying: “me too”. Spiros continues talking to her very softly and sweetly, caressing her hair and her face. He does not touch her body for fear of triggering another memory flashback.
  * Doctor Petridis waits patiently for several minutes, until she stops crying and looks calmer: “Louisa, shall we try again?”, her voice is very faint: “yes”, “remember, you need to continue reminding yourself that this is a safe medical visit and do keep looking at Spiro. Spiro, keep talking to her”, he slowly inserts his finger. She shivers but she does not have another attack, “does it hurt here?”, she answers with very faint voice: “yes”, “and here? ”, “no”, the doctor continues moving his finger inside of her while pushing on her abdomen with his other hand, “Louisa, have you received a hysterectomy?”, she speaks with faint, weak voice: “yes”. Spiros intervenes: “right after her last baby delivery”, “well that explains why I can’t feel your uterus”. Dr. Petridis completes his visit of her internal organs. When he extracts his finger, he finds a fair amount of ejaculate on it, “Louisa, did Hugh manage to penetrate you?”, she speaks weakly: “no he did not, but he came very close”, “did you have intercourse earlier today?”. Spiros nods: “this morning…”, that happy moment feels like a million years ago, now, “well, that explains this. I don’t need to report it, then. It is unrelated to the assault”. Dr. Petridis looks at his wife. He knows very well that there is no point revealing that detail. He knows it’d cast a negative light on Louisa in court. In this society, living and fornicating out of wedlock with a married man that very morning, could be seen as a justification for the violence.
  * “I am done now. You were very good, Louisa, I know this was very, very, difficult”. Dr. Petridis goes to the bathroom to wash his hands. Spiros takes a clean towel out of the closet and hands it to him. Then he sits on the bed near Louisa and holds her hand. He looks at her very lovingly. He leans forward and kisses her softly, caressing her hair: “I love you so much…”, she looks at him and smiles sweetly: “I love you too”. She is not crying now, but she looks very worn out. He Leans forward and kisses her again. Florence is standing in a corner quietly, respecting that very private moment. Dr. Petridis returns to the bedroom and sits on a chair: “Louisa, for now, I am seeing pain that is consistent with the external injuries, but it seems that your internal organs are fine. However, I’d like to visit you again soon. The pain associated with external contusions and abrasions makes it difficult to conclusively assess internal damage. Can you both come to my office tomorrow morning?”, Spiros nods: “yes”, “good, as your doctor, I am generally pleased with your physical conditions. As your friend, I am really sorry this has happened to you, Louisa, and I am determined to help you to full recovery”, Louisa speaks weakly: “thank you…”.

  * The doctor smiles: “now you can go and wash yourself if you wish, Louisa. Did you want Florence or Spiro to help you?”. She looks at Spiros, then answers with faint voice: “yes”. “Spiro, as you help her, be careful to how you touch her. Touches may trigger another attack, because they may resemble the violent pushes she experienced earlier. You will need to be very, very, gentle”, he nods, “if she has another memory flashback you will need to do the same as before, talk to her until she responds to your voice, have her open her eyes to bring her back to reality, and keep reminding her that she is safe with you”, Spiros nods. Of course, he will. He puts a robe on her, gets clothes from her dresser, then they go to the bathroom together.
  * Back from the bathroom, she is wearing her pajamas and the robe. Dr. Petridis has been waiting in the bedroom: “you need rest now, Louisa. For tonight, here is a high dose of narcotic that will make you sleep. He hands her a bottle. She drinks it. “Florence and I will go downstairs now. Spiro, you should stay with her until she is deeply asleep, then you should join us downstairs”. Louisa makes a faint smile: “goodbye, doctor, thank you very much”. Spiros nods. He looks really very, very, worried.
  * After the Petridis have left the room, Spiros notices that the sheets in their bed have blood stains from Louisa’s wounds. Looking quite upset, he changes the sheets. Then he has Louisa lay down. She is still upset, crying softly. He sits next to her and talks to her very sweetly, caressing her hair and her face, “try to rest now, my love. I am here with you and I love you so much”.

  * The police have left. The children are sitting in the living room, very worried. Margot and Gerry are crying quietly. When they see Dr. Petridis and Florence, Larry speaks with concerned voice: “how is she, doctor? We heard her screaming…”, “physically she is very bruised and she has several abrasions, but there seems to be no internal organ damage”, the children look relieved, Dr. Petridis continues: “however, we need to talk about psychological damage. She is very, very, likely to develop Post Traumatic Stress (PTS), which will likely take a long time to fully recover. The support of those who love her will be paramount to her recovery. I have just given your mother a narcotic to help her sleep tonight. Spiro will be with her until it takes effect. Then he will join us. I want him to hear what I have to say too. So, let’s wait for him”, Florence get up: “I think we can all use a cup of tea, while we wait. I will take care of making some. Can one of you just let me know where you keep the tea?”. While Florence is making tea Leslie gets up and brings biscuits to the coffee table.

  * Spiros joins them looking very worn out himself: “she is asleep now, but it took a while. She kept crying”. Dr. Petridis nod: “please sit down with us, Spiro, I need to talk to all of you”, “here, one for you too”, Florence pours him a cup of tea, “thank you, Mrs. Petridi”. Dr. Petridis begins explaining: “I would like to begin this by reminding you that Louisa is still her own self. Her personality, character, and role in your lives is unchanged. She is still your mother, and she will still have the authority and loving roles she has always had”, the children all nod, “similarly, she will still be the loving partner you know, Spiro. That won’t change”, he nods too, “and there is no reason for any of you to fundamentally change your behavior towards her. I often see the family of people who have suffered traumatic experiences become overprotective, treating them as if they were helpless children. Well, that doesn’t help. It is important that Louisa maintains her self-esteem. She can play an important role in her own recovery if she feels in charge of it. For this reason, I ask that when she wakes up tomorrow you communicate to her everything I am going to tell you now”, they all nod.
  * Doctor Petridis continues: “having said that, you should know that Louisa is very likely to develop Post Traumatic Stress (PTS). She shows early signs and she has already had a panic attack that was triggered by my visit. It is likely to get worse, I am afraid. People with PTS experience memory flashbacks during which their eyes are typically closed and their brain re-plays the traumatic event. It is a very real experience to the victim. In that moment, the violence is happening to her all over again and she typically shows the signs of a panic attack.
  * The memory flashback can occur completely spontaneously or in response to a triggering event. The more the traumatic memory replays itself, the stronger it becomes encoded in her brain and the flashback-induced panic attacks become increasingly more frequent”. Spiros and the children are all crying. Spiros weeps: “this is awful, can’t those flashbacks be stopped?”, “that is usually very, very, difficult, but _you_ have just done it, Spiro. When you talked to her earlier, your voice was able to get through to her. That stopped the attack very quickly and she came right back. That was extremely important because it likely interrupted the playback of the memory and hopefully prevented it from strengthening itself”. They seem relieved. 
  * The doctor continues: “my voice was not effective. Yours was, Spiro. This confirms several studies showing that the best predictor of positive outcome for women with PTS is a loving and supporting partner to whom they are strongly bonded”. Larry nods: “that clearly describes mother and Spiro”, “yes, and that is why I am optimistic that Louisa will have a positive outcome”. Spiros looks at them all: “I will be that partner for her, you can all count on that”. They nod. They know he means it…
  * Larry inquires: “doctor, you mentioned triggers…”, “yes, memory flashbacks are typically caused by stimuli that resemble the original trauma. In your mother’s case, these are most likely to be physical contacts with her body that remind her of Hugh’s. So, it is really important that you avoid all contacts for now. No touching, no hugs, no arms on her shoulders, no pats on her back. Nothing. Even you Spiro”, “but earlier I hugged her and she seemed comforted by it. It did not trigger a memory flashback”, “unfortunately symptoms of PTS tend to worsen after the initial trauma. So that you could hug her today does not imply you can still safely do it tomorrow. Until we can test for triggers under controlled conditions, my advice is that for now you do not initiate any contacts with her. Instead, you can allow her to touch or hug you, but only out of her own initiative. If she does, you can try to gently respond, but be very prepared to stop if you see that it may be triggering a flashback”. 
  * Doctor Petridis continues: “there is one more thing that you need to be aware of: while memory playbacks often have a trigger, spontaneous flashbacks are quite common too. Spiro, as the one person who in this moment can stop her attacks, you will need to be always near her”, he nods: “of course I will”. 
  * “Another common thing that is likely to happen is nightmares. These are also flashbacks and can be stopped the same way you stopped her flashback earlier, Spiro. You need to wake her up gently and talk to her, until your voice gets through to her. Then encourage her to open her eyes and look at you. Bring her back into the safe now, away from the memory of the traumatic past”.
  * Margot asks: “is there a treatment?”. Dr. Petridis shakes his head: “not pharmacological, I am afraid, but...”, in that moment, Louisa starts screaming: “no, no, no, Hugh, no, no, stop, stop…”. Spiros runs upstairs. They all hear his voice talk to her sweetly. The screams stop. After several minutes he returns downstairs: “she went back to sleep”. They all seem relieved. Spiros can do it. He can help her. And they know he will…
  * Margot continues their conversation: “you were talking about treatment options, Dr. Petridis”, “there are a few psychological approaches that can help. I am fairly familiar with some of them. Unfortunately, in my profession I see way too many women who are victims of sexual assault. The main technique we will need to implement is called ‘desensitization’. It consists of a step-wise process through which the patient is gradually habituated to the triggers within a safe context. Louisa can learn to not have flashbacks in response to physical contacts. Spiro, tomorrow morning we can begin desensitization therapy with you, in my office. We will also set appointments for more visits. At least initially those should be daily. We will also set up appointments where all of you are present. As I mentioned, a supporting partner is critical, but the overall support network of the patient is also important and there are things you can all do to help your mother”.
  * Larry nods: “of course we will do all it takes. Doctor how can we learn more about PTS?”, “I will lend you books. I have some in my office. I encourage you all to read them. Even Louisa. An informed patient is the best patient”. Spiro nods: “I can look in the library in town too, but, if they do have books on PTS, they will probably all be in Greek”, Margot intervenes: “I know countess Mavrodaki has many books on psychiatry in her library. I have seen them. They are in French and Greek, but also in English. I will ask her to allow us to go there and read them. She can’t refuse this time. It’s too important, I will explain it to her”, “Dr. Petridis nods: “the countess… of course!”, he suddenly looks thoughtful: “that’s a very good idea, Margot. Let me know if she wants me to talk to her and explain why she should give you access to those books”.
  * Doctor Petridis sits back: “unless you have other questions, Florence and I should go home now and you should all have some dinner and go to bed. You had a very difficult day and you need to rest”. Spiros hands his car keys to Larry: “can you please drive them home? I’d rather stay here, in case your mother has another nightmare”, “of course Spiro”. 

  * They prepare a quick dinner, but none of them feels like eating. They have a bit of food, then they all go to bed. Spiros undresses quietly and gets into bed next to Louisa. She is sleeping, the red marks of the violence visible on her body and face. He looks at her for a long time, with very loving and sad eyes. His love, so clever, so sweet, so beautiful, so lovely, yet so troubled now. How could anyone be so horrible to her? How could someone claiming that he loves her do that to her? He turns off the lamp, then he slowly drifts into a light sleep. During the night, Louisa has 4 more nightmares. Each time Spiros can stop them quickly and she goes straight back to sleep (the narcotic is powerful). Next door, Larry hears the screams and is so grateful that his mother has Spiros… what would they do without him?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry. This has turned darker than I had initially intended. I will lighten it up later, I promise...


	11. Living with PTS

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With Spiros' and her children's support Louisa begins her recovery from PTS

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this is still not a light chapter, but beginning to improve. ;-)
> 
> And I wish to re-iterate my previous disclosure. Please, do not use this as a source of medical information. I have made it all up. I have no idea whether 'desensitization therapy' is a real thing. 
> 
> And I have no idea what PTSD was called in the 30ies. I couldn't find that information. When it pertained to soldiers returning from the war they called it 'shell shock', but I could not find what they called PTSD for women after an assault.
> 
> P.S. PTSD = Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

  * The next morning Louisa and Spiros lay in bed for a while, talking. He explains what Dr. Petridis has told them last night about Post Traumatic Stress (PTS). He also tells her that for now him and her children will not touch her, in fear of triggering memory flashbacks. But she can touch them, if she feels like it. “The doctor said that the best predictor for positive outcome in PTS is a loving and supporting partner to whom the patient is strongly bonded. I am determined to be that partner for you, my love”, “and I am certainly very bonded. I really love you, Spiro”, he looks at her very lovingly: “our deep true love will get us through this, Louisa. We will do it together”. She stretches her head towards him and softly kisses his lips. That’s a good sign, already.
  * The children are all up, having breakfast. Margot is laying the table: “I wonder how mother is doing”, Larry answers with somber voice: “she had a few more nightmares last night, but Spiros stopped them all quickly. When I got up they were awake. I heard their voices, talking in their bedroom”. In that moment, Spiros and Louisa join them. Louisa shows clear signs of the violence. She has bruises on her face and arms and a cut on her swollen lip. Her children look at her with very sad gazes. Leslie smiles sweetly: “how was your night mother?”, “I slept but I had those horrible nightmares. Good thing that Spiro was there to stop them”, he looks at her lovingly: “I will always be there for you, my love”, she looks at him sweetly: “I know…”, she goes near him and caresses his face. She kisses him. He returns the kiss but he is really careful not to touch her. She knows that she can hug him if she wants to, she would love to, but she does not feel ready to reach for his body right now. Maybe later… 

  * Louisa and Spiros are leaving the house to go to Dr. Petridis. “Gerry, while we are away make sure you do your homework. No animals in the house until you are done and no excuses for not studying! And you, Margot, clear up the mess in your room. I tried to go in earlier and I could not find a space to put my foot on the floor! “yes, mother”, in case anyone thought that she had lost her role in the family. They all smile. Happy that she is still their usual mom, actually.

  * Spiros and Louisa drive to Dr. Petridis. Florence welcomes them: “Louisa, Spiro, come in. How was your night Louisa?”, “not too bad, all given. That narcotic helped a lot”.
  * Doctor Petridis walks in: “hello, come to my office, please”. They sit down: “so here is how we will proceed today. First, you will give me an update of the past few hours. Then, we will do a little assessment of potential triggers and begin the desensitization protocol. Last, I will visit you again, Louisa, to check your internal organs”. Louisa and Spiros nod.
  * “Louisa, how was your night?”, “I slept most of it but I still had nightmares”, “can you remember how many?”, “it may have been 2 or 3”, Spiros intervenes: “5, including the one she had while you were still there, doctor”, “but Spiro could always stop them. When I hear his voice, I know I am safe and I wake up”, “can you describe those nightmares?”, “it’s like a film where I re-live the assault”, “when Spiro interrupts it, where are you with respect to the film?”, “at the beginning, when Hugh comes up to me after I reject his marriage proposal”, “that is good, the sooner flashbacks can be stopped, the less the memory will become consolidated in your brain”. 
  * “How about physical contacts?”, Spiros answers: “we all carefully avoided those for the moment, but she did kiss me, twice, in bed and in the kitchen during breakfast. She also caressed my face then”. The doctor nods: “that’s a very good first step, we can begin working on contacts today. For now, we will focus on physical contacts that are initiated by you, Louisa. We will work on receiving contacts initiated by others, later”.
  * “Let’s do our assessment now”. He gets up and goes to the door: “Florence, can you come in, please?”, “we will begin with Florence because she is your friend and because she is a woman. Contacts with women are not always triggers”. Dr. Petridis continues: “Louisa, can you please get up and walk towards Florence?”, Louisa follows the doctor’s directions, “good, now reach out for her waist with your arms”, “now hug her”, she seems fine doing that, “Florence you can hug her back”. Florence is very delicate at first, but as she sees that Louisa is fine, she hugs her more tightly. Louisa returns her hug and hides her face in her friend’s shoulder. She needs that comfort, right now. The two women hug for a while, “this is good news. It seems female touches are not a trigger. At least not when they are from a good friend who you know well and who you know loves you”.
  * “Spiro, your turn. Stand up, please. Louisa, you can go and hug him. Do it gradually, though. First you touch his waist with your hands, then you slowly hug him”. Louisa approaches Spiros. She reaches out for his waist and she starts shivering. He smiles at her very lovingly: “my love, look at me. I am here with you. You are safe with me”, she is looking into his eyes sweetly: “I know, love”, she holds that position for a bit until she stops shivering. Then she slowly moves closer to Spiros. As she feels her body against his she begins shivering very hard. The doctor intervenes: “step back now, Louisa, step back”. She does. That was close, but it did not trigger a memory flashback. “Louisa, go and hug Florence again”. She does, “and now Spiro again, as you do that keep your eyes on him and remind yourself that this is Spiro you are hugging and you _want_ to hug him”, she approaches and slowly hugs him. She starts shivering again, but she holds the position looking into his eyes. He looks back into her eyes, very lovingly: “Louisa, my love, it’s me you are hugging, and I love you”. She smiles at him sweetly: “me too”. The shiver slowly goes away. Then she hugs him tightly, her head laying on his shoulder, her face in the crook of his neck. She has been longing for this...
  * “Spiro, slowly raise your arms and gently put your hands on Louisa’s shoulders. He does, so delicately that he looks like he is touching a porcelain doll. Louisa starts shivering again, “Spiro, stop in that position, but keep your hands there. Keep your eyes open Louisa, look at Spiro”, he is looking at her very, very, lovingly: “you are safe with me, love”, she is looking at him with loving eyes too: “I know”. Slowly, the shivering calms down. Louisa hugs him tightly now, and cries on his shoulder. His hands still on her shoulders, he talks softly in her ear: “don’t cry my love, don’t cry”, and kisses her hair. Right now, he has to hold back his urge to hug her tightly. She is still crying: “I hate that I am responding to you as if you were my rapist, Spiro. I love you. I want to feel happy in your arms, the way I did before”, he answers softly: “you will, my love, you will”. Dr. Petridis intervenes: “this is already very good progress, Louisa. More rapid than I am used to see. You will get there soon, I promise. Let’s try one more thing. As you hug him, kiss Spiro. Slowly. Spiros, you can return her kiss, but be prepared to stop if it looks like it may trigger an attack”. She raises her head towards him and she reaches for his lips. They kiss. A long love kiss, at last. No shivers to that. Excellent news. Dr. Petridis and Florence are standing next to each other. They kiss too. Spiros and Louisa notice it and smile sweetly. Florence, blushes: “you two are so in love… you are contagious”, they all laugh, “Louisa, this is going to be your ‘homework’ for today. As many times as you feel like it, you will approach Spiro and you will hug him. He will hold you by your shoulders, the way he is now, and you will kiss. It will become easier and easier and you will be ready for the next desensitization step”.
  * “Instead, you should abstain from intercourse for now. There are ways you can go back to it that hopefully will not trigger any attacks. We will talk about it tomorrow, so do not try it for now. You really, really, want to avoid that to become a trigger of memory flashbacks”. 
  * Doctor Petridis continues: “I’d like to visit you again, now, Louisa, do you want Florence, Spiro, or both with you?”, “just Spiro”. Florence smiles at her friend and leaves. The visit causes a few shivers but goes a lot more smoothly today. Louisa keeps her eyes open and looks at Spiros. All along he talks to her very sweetly. “I am pleased to report that I am not finding any internal organ damage even today”.
  * Doctor Petridis smiles: “I thought this was a very good session. Louisa, you still have a way to go and you will need to be patient, but I am confident you will recover. You and Spiro have the kind of really strong bond needed to get you through this”. They lovingly look at each other. They know. 
  * The Doctor gets up and goes to his book shelves. He gives them 3 books on PTS, two in English, one in Greek. “I recommend that the two of you and your children, Louisa, read these. Spiro, you should read them all, the Greek and the English books cover similar material but they sometimes have somewhat different takes. Possibly because of cultural differences. You may find them both helpful”. Spiros takes the books: “thank you, doctor, I will”.
  * “Last, here is another bottle of narcotic, Louisa. You should put it on your night table. If you see that you are having a bad night you may want to drink it. Either the whole thing or half of it, depending on how you feel. I would like you to self-assess and manage your use of sleeping aid”, “thank you doctor”, “happy to help, as much as I can. As you leave, don’t forget to make several appointments with Florence. Daily for the two of you and weekly with your children”.
  * When they exit the doctor’s office Florence greets them: “I was happy to see you have already made progress Louisa. As a woman, my husband often calls me in during similar sessions. So I have seen many cases. Other women make progress more slowly. You will get better, my friend”, “thank you Florence, I was happy to learn that you are not a trigger for my attacks”. The two women hug again. Spiros smiles sweetly as he watches them hugging for a while. He is happy that Louisa is getting this support from her friend. “Mrs. Petridi, we need to make several appointments. Daily at 5:30PM would work well for us, if possible”, “yes that time is available, see you both tomorrow”.

  * Spiros and Louisa leave, arm in arm. They know that they have a long way ahead but they feel hopeful. Their powerful and deep love will get them through this.
  * As they walk towards the car, “Louisa, Spiro!”, it’s Dimitra: “I have learned what happened. It is awful. I hope you are all right Louisa”, she answers with sad voice: “well, not really, I am having panic attacks caused by the memory of the assault”, Dimitra looks sad too: “I am so sorry Louisa”, “thank you Dimitra. Fortunately, Dr. Petridis is being wonderfully helpful and Spiro is the best support I could hope for”, she smiles: “I am glad for that. You don’t need to worry about the children. Christo can stay with them in the afternoons”, “thank you Dimitra, that’s good, I wouldn’t want to scare them with my panic attacks”. Spiros adds: “and I need to always be near Louisa until we know that her attacks are under control”, Dimitra smiles: “don’t you two worry, Christo can stay with the children for as long as you need”, Louisa smiles: “thank you for your support Dimitra”, “Louisa, you should know that the whole village is on your side. When the news spread today, a crowd gathered by the prison. They wanted to lynch Hugh. The police had to shoot in the air to stop them. You are one of us, Louisa”, she nods, but her voice is still sad: “and I feel part of this town. My life has been happy here”, he looks at her with loving eyes: “it _is_ happy, my love, we will get through this together. We can still be happy”, she looks back into his eyes, with a sweet and sad smile: “I know…”.

  * Back at the house. Spiros and Louisa explain to her children how desensitization therapy works. Today’s first step is hugs to Spiros, initiated by Louisa, with a small hug back from Spiros, followed by a kiss. Larry smirks: “that should get the two of you back to your usual routine, then”. They all smile. They’d all love for that to happen quickly. Spiros nods: “Dr. Petridis also gave us these books. We should all read them”. Then he approaches Louisa: “I know the doctor said the hugs are to come from you, love, but I can solicit them, can I?”. He stands there, staring at her with big puppy eyes, a really sweet loving smile, with a lightly pouting lip, his head slightly tilted, and his arms slightly open. Irresistible. She smiles sweetly and walks towards him, reaches for his waist, then slowly hugs him. She shivers, but she holds the position, her eyes open, looking at him. All the while, he talks to her very softly and sweetly. She knows, it’s Spiros, her love, not Hugh. She is safe. The shivers go away. He gently and slowly reaches for her shoulders with his hands. She shivers again. After a while the shivers stop and they kiss”. Margot smiles: “the sweetest therapy, ever. Keep practicing, you will get there, lovebirds”. They all smile.

  * Louisa and Spiros hold onto each other for a while. She leans her head onto his shoulder. He softly kisses her hair. Eventually, she lets go of Spiro’s hug: “time to prepare some lunch now. What would you like? Greek? English? Indian?”, Leslie smiles: “can we have all three?”. They all laugh. Still a happy family, despite everything.
  * After lunch Louisa goes outside to help Lugaretzia hang the laundry to dry. Spiros helps too. If he is to always be near her, he might as well. Good thing that he does. Suddenly and with no apparent trigger Louisa begins screaming with truly terrified voice: “no, no, Hugh, no, stop, Hugh, stop”, he talks to her very sweetly: “Louisa, my love, listen to my voice. I am here with you, you are safe”, she quiets down, “open your eyes, Louisa”, she does “who can you see?”, she answers with weak teary voice: “Spiro”, “who is Spiro?”, “my love”, he speaks with very sweet voice: “yes and you are safe with me, love”, she is crying now: “I know”. He opens his arms. She hugs him, tightly. He wishes he could hug her back, but he only holds her shoulders. He kisses her hair, while she cries in the crook of his neck. Lugaretzia is crying too. Spiros takes Louisa to sit on a bench. He holds her hands and talks to her sweetly until she calms down. Then they kiss. Larry is watching from his bedroom’s window. He has heard the cries. Margot, Leslie, and Gerry are also watching from the veranda. They all look worried. This is not going to be easy, for anybody.

  * Throughout that day Louisa keeps hugging and kissing Spiros, often responding to irresistible puppy eyed invitations. It gets easier and easier until it becomes completely natural. They are happy about that. She also has more panic attacks induced by memory flashbacks. All of them untriggered. Some are really bad and it takes Spiros various attempts before his voice gets through to her. There is nothing they can do to prevent those. At least Spiros can stop them all. 

  * That afternoon Margot visits the countess. As always, the countess is happy to see her. She really likes Margot. Also, she has heard about her mother: “how is your mother doing, Margo? I have heard she has been assaulted by Hugh”, Margot answers with sad voice: “yes, countess, and now she has PTS. She keeps having awful memory flashbacks and nightmares. We are lucky that Spiro is able to stop them. Larry and I have tried once but it did not work. She would not respond to our voices. Instead, Spiro’s voice can get through to her and pull her back to reality quickly”, “that is very good, Margot, it will help a lot. The best predictor of positive outcome for women with PTS is a loving and supporting partner to whom they are strongly bonded”, Margot is surprised to hear the exact same words Dr. Petridis said: “you seem to know a lot about PTS, countess”, “I had a friend with PTS once, so I have read about it”, “which brings me to the reason for I am here. We all want to help mother and we need to learn about PTS. Dr. Petridis has lent us a few books. I know that you have lots of books on Psychiatry in your library. Would you please, please, allow us to come here and read them?”, the countess is quiet for a bit, then she relents: “as you know, I don’t like to have people around my house, but for your mother I will make an exception. Yes, you can all come here to read those books whenever you wish. I will instruct Dennis to that effect”, “thank you very much countess, I really appreciate that!”. They get up, the countess hugs her: “your mom will be fine, Margot, she will recover, with Spiros’ and her children’s support”, Margot is now crying in her arms: “I hope so! It is so heartbreaking to see her like that…”. The countess holds her in her arms and caresses her hair until she calms down and stops crying.

  * That evening after dinner they all sit in the living room. Margot tells them about her visit: “I went to see the countess today. She was very sweet. She said we can go and read her Psychiatry books whenever we want. She seems to know a lot about PTS”, Spiros smiles: “excellent, thank you for doing that, Margot!”. 
  * Larry nods: “Leslie and I have talked: since you will always be with mother, Spiro, we can drive your taxi in your place, if you agree. I can do mornings and Leslie afternoons”, “thank you, that will help keep my business going”, he smiles: “…and I know that you can deal with British visitors. Your English is at least as good as mine”. They all laugh. Louisa smiles sweetly: “thank you all for your help. You are so wonderful”. Then she cries. Spiros holds and kisses her hands. He wishes he could hug her right now. Larry smiles: “you are such a wonderful mother, raising us on your own all of these years. You are always there for us. It is our turn to help you now. This is how families work. This is how you have raised us to be”, Spiros, sounds moved: “I have always admired how close a family you are. And I have always admired you, Louisa, for raising your children to be such wonderful persons. Each free to express their own individual personalities, but all ready to help and support each other. They reflect the wonderful person you are. Strong, clever, witty, loving... let them help you, love, as you have helped them. It’s what families do”, he looks at her sweetly, and slowly and gently reaches for her lips. They kiss. Margot smiles: “yes mother, it is our turn. We are here to help you go back to be your old self, grumpy grudges and all”, Louisa looks perplexed now and stops crying: “grumpy grudges?!?!”. They all laugh. They need that too. One united loving family coming together to help the one member who is in trouble right now.

  * That night Louisa falls asleep hugging Spiros’ chest, without taking the narcotic. She is very tired. All of those panic attacks are exhausting. Also, having Spiros near her gives her comfort and a sense of safety. However, she still has several nightmares. At least 8. More than the night before. Spiros lovingly and quickly helps her through each of them.

  * The next day Spiros and Louisa visit Christos and the children for a bit in the afternoon. They have Greek coffee together. Mihalis and Katherini are happy to be with their dad and Louisa. “Louisa, what happened to your face?”, Katherini is looking at her perplexed, “nothing serious, darling, don’t worry. I just fell and hit my face. I will be well soon”. The children seem happy with that explanation and play with their father. Luckily, Louisa has no memory flashbacks while they are there, but they know that the way things are right now they cannot bring the children to their house. At least, not yet. They will be visiting them at Dimitra and Christo’s.

  * At 17:30 they have their second visit with Dr. Petridis: “like yesterday, Louisa, please, update me on your progress since the last time we met. “I had several flashbacks, some pretty bad. None of them seemed triggered. I also had several more nightmares. Spiro can stop them all, but it is very, very, tiring”, she looks sad now, “do you know how many attacks and how many nightmares you had?”, Spiros has a small writing pad with his notes: “15 and 8”. “did you take the narcotic last night?”, “no, I was so tired that I fell asleep without. Those attacks are very draining”, “how about your desensitization practice?”, she smiles: “that went very well. At first I shivered each time I touched or hugged Spiro, but then it became easier and easier and now it feels completely natural”, the doctor looks surprised: “that’s very good, you must have practiced a lot!”, she smiles: “yes”, the doctor sounds really surprised: “so you have spontaneously and repeatedly approached and hugged Spiro, without fear? That is excellent!” Spiros smiles: “well, I’ve cheated a bit. You said she should initiate all contacts, not me. So, I didn’t, of course, but I figured I could still ‘solicit’ them…”, “solicit?”, the doctor looks at Spiros, puzzled, then he continues: “well, since that is going so well, let’s work on desensitization first today”.
  * “Just show me what you have been doing so far”. They stand. Louisa walks towards Spiros and hugs him. He holds her shoulders and they kiss. All without a shiver. “excellent progress! Now, Spiro, try slowly bringing your arms towards Louisa’s back”. As he does it, she begins shaking. He leans towards her ear and talks to her very sweetly: “my love, it’s me hugging you. You are safe”. She keeps her eyes open and she looks at him while he holds his hands on her back until she stops shivering, “good, try a more complete hug, now, Spiro”, he slowly wraps his arms around her. She shivers. He talks to her very lovingly: “keep your eyes open, love, look at me, I love you”, she looks at him and smiles sweetly: “me too”. She stops shivering. She is happy in his arms now. Finally. They kiss. Dr. Petridis smiles: “this is excellent progress and your homework for today. The two of you are so motivated that I am sure desensitization will work very well for you”.
  * “One last question on this. You got me curious, Spiro. Would you mind showing how you ‘solicit’ her hugs?”, he smiles: “sure”, he stands, staring at her with big puppy eyes, sweet smile, pouting lip, head tilted, his arms open. She looks at him lovingly, then she approaches and hugs him. He puts his hands on her shoulders. They kiss. Spiros turns towards the doctor with a naughty smile: “see? Easy! It works like a charm, you should try it on your wife”. They all laugh.

  * “Now, let’s talk about those untriggered flashbacks. Louisa, can you remember what you were thinking just before they happened?”, she thinks for a bit then shakes her head: “not really”, “then today I ask that each time they happen you try to remember and take note of what you were thinking just before them. It is possible that a certain thought process may be acting as a trigger. If we can identify it, you may be able to recognize it and interrupt it when it starts. Meanwhile, Spiro, it is critical that you keep stopping them all. The less those memories run in her brain, the less consolidated they will become”.

  * “Now we should talk about your intimacy. First, I’d want to reiterate that, like for everything else that goes on in my office, I treat all of this as strictly confidential. Also, I realize that this may be embarrassing. To reduce that, I will not look directly at you. I will be looking down at my notes. He begins: “before the assault how often did you have intercourse?”, Spiros blushes: “several times a week”, “and how was it?”. They answer together: “perfect”. Dr. Petridis is taking notes and acting very professionally, but he can’t help smiling: “how so? Louisa, do you mind explaining?”, she blushes and looks down: “he is a very sweet and gentle lover. Very caring of me and my pleasure. We always get there together”, “Spiro, your explanation of perfect?”, he is blushed too: “she is so relaxed with me... Very open. I can see her pleasure and make sure I time mine to hers, perfectly”. 
  * “Do you have one or more favorite positions, Louisa?”, blushing again, she answers with soft voice: “yes, when he is on top of me and I can be completely his, in his arms. And when we both sit up, and hug. Both are very sweet and tender positions”, “Spiros?”, he is quite blushed too, now: “the same two, for the same reasons. I like that she is so relaxed with me and I can take her to climax. But I also like it when she has control and we still get there together. And I like that I can hug her throughout. It’s very loving that way”, Dr. Petridis keeps writing then he looks up: “both of those positions involve extensive body contact. Although you both find that very bonding, they can also be powerful triggers, especially the so-called missionary position. The kind of body contact it involves and the man’s on top position and controlling role are very similar to Hugh’s during his assault. You can get there eventually, but I don’t advise either of those positions at this point. It is important that you don’t even try them. If you trigger an attack during intercourse your intimacy will become really difficult. Very, compromised. So please, follow my advice, even if it may feel like an intrusion into your privacy”. They both nod. They understand.
  * “So here is my advice. First, you should only attempt intercourse if you truly feel ready, Louisa. Don’t do it because you think Spiro wants it. He can wait for you to be ready for it, Spiros looks at her, then speaks with very sweet voice: “of course, I can wait for as long as you need, love”, the doctor continues: “like for the desensitization process, the approach needs to be very gradual. Initially, all of the initiative will have to come from you, Louisa, and no touches from Spiro. The position I advise for now is with Spiro laying on his back and Louisa sitting on top. It may not be as bonding as your preferred positions, but it is much safer because it involves limited body contact. And, like for everything else, you will need to approach sex very, very, carefully, ready to stop at the first sign of attacks. Differently from desensitization therapy, though, this is not “homework’. Do it only if you feel ready, Louisa. You should rather wait than rush into it and trigger an attack. You don’t really want that”, he takes more notes, then he looks at them: “because this is not ‘homework’, I will not ask you about it at our daily visits. You will let me know when it happens and how it went”, they both nod. He sits back: “well, unless you have questions, we can end our session here for today”. Louisa nods: “thank you very much Dr. Petridis”, Spiros smiles: “yes, thank you for all your help, doctor”.

  * They all leave the doctor’s office. Florence smiles at them: “hope your session went well today”, “are there other patients waiting, dear?”, “nobody else”, he smiles: “good”. Dr. Petridis stares at her with big puppy eyes, sweet loving smile, pouting lips, head tilted, his arms slightly open. Florence gets up and hugs him. He hugs her, holding her close to his body, and smiles sweetly. They kiss. Spiros laughs naughtily: “told you doctor, it works like a charm. Always. They can’t help it”, Florence looks puzzled. Her husband is still holding her in his arms, looking at her lovingly: “sorry I can’t explain, darling, patient confidentiality”. The doctor kisses his wife again. Louisa laughs: “that’s how they trick us into loving them, Florence. And, of course you can explain, doctor, this patient gives you permission… unless you’d rather keep it as your little love secret…”. They all laugh.

  * Over the next few days Louisa keeps having those sudden memory flashbacks and nightmares, several times a day, at least one every hour. She does not seem to be able to find specific psychological triggers. She has some even during her daily sessions with Dr. Petridis: “I am always very impressed to see how well you respond to Spiro’s voice, Louisa. Most women have no way of stopping their attacks. I am so glad you do”, she looks at Spiros lovingly: “me too, I am so grateful that you help me so much, Spiro”, he looks at her sweetly. “of course! I will always be there for you, my love”. They kiss. Spiros keeps tracking the number of her flashbacks in his notebook with great precision, Dr. Petridis asks: “can I look at your notes, Spiro? I’d like to determine whether or not the numbers are stable or are changing over time”. As he passes his notes to him, Spiros observes: “after an initial increase, it seems to me that they remain similar from day to day, with relatively small fluctuations”, the doctor looks at the numbers and nods: “that is actually good news. It seems that the memory is not becoming stronger in your brain, Louisa. The likely reason is that Spiro can stop them all, early within the flashback”, she answers with sad eyes: “I am glad of that, doctor, but I still find that they are so many… It is very difficult and very draining”, she is crying now. Spiros open his arms. She hugs him, he hugs her: “don’t cry, my love, you will get better. We can do this together”. She nods, still in his arms.
  * Instead, Louisa progresses rather well with the desensitization process. Each day she achieves a new target. Gradually, she can go up to Spiros and hug him tightly, both frontally and from his back. Then they begin with Spiros approaching her, going really close and inviting the hugs (those puppy eyes do help a lot). Each time he hugs her back tightly and they kiss. Dr. Petridis smiles: “excellent progress”, Louisa nods: “I am happy, I really need those hugs”, Spiros looks at her sweetly: “me too”.

  * Meanwhile they all read the books that Dr. Petridis has lent them. They learn about PTS and they are happy to see that Louisa’s case is among the least bad. Larry raises his eyes form the book: “mother, you seem to be doing rather well in comparison to others. It has been a relatively short time since the trauma and you are making clear progress”, Louisa nods: “Spiro makes a big difference”, Larry agrees: “yea, that makes me optimistic”, Margot smiles: “me too, thank you Spiro”. Spiros and Louisa look at each other with their eyes full of love. She hugs him, he wraps her in his arms, they kiss, happily.

  * A week after the initial assault the children join Louisa and Spiros for a therapy session. Dr. Petridis is sitting behind his desk: “Louisa, we will first assess how you respond to each of your children, then we will determine the specific desensitization procedure. Let’s begin with Margot. Louisa, please, go up to her and hug her”, like for Florence, that goes very well, “now let’s have Margot go up to Louisa and hug her”, that goes really well too. “Margot, can I talk to you outside for a moment?”, “we need a last test, the most difficult. One that Louisa has never tried before, not even with Florence; you should go up to your mother from behind and hug her when she is not expecting it. If she shows any signs of distress make sure you let go immediately”. They go back in: “let’s see how it goes with Gerry”. It’s easy with him too, both when Louisa hugs him and when he hugs her. Then Margot makes her move, she goes up to her mother from behind and suddenly hugs her. She has a strong shiver but it goes away very quickly, “Margot, are you trying to give me a heart attack?!?”, “so sorry mom, it was the doctor’s order!”, Dr. Petridis smiles: “well that went rather well. It’s good news, Louisa, it seems that neither Margot nor Gerry are triggers”. Margot and Gerry look very happy. They can hug their mom now. Mom and children have all missed that. 
  * For Leslie and Larry the situation is less easy. Louisa shivers when they initiate contacts with her (but not when she does). They will need to go through a desensitization protocol similar to the one she is following with Spiros. So they all begin practicing at home. Louisa is happy that her family is so caring, but that evening she often looks sad. Spiros does his best to cheer her up. He manages a few times, but the effect is short lasting. After a while she goes back to her sadness. He decides to address the issue. He approaches her and with very loving voice he murmurs: “my love, you look sad…”, she looks back at him sweetly: “I am just very tired, love. Those flashbacks really wear me out”. He kisses her, then looks at her sweetly: “let’s go to sleep early, then”. Spiros and Louisa go to their bedroom. He knows that something else is troubling her, but he respects that she may not feel like talking about it right now. He just holds her tenderly until she falls asleep with her head on his chest.

  * The next day Spiros brings that up during their daily visit with Dr. Petridis. The doctor looks at Louisa: “do you feel like telling us why you are so sad?”, “well, this is all being so difficult and those attacks are really, really, hard. They drain my physical and mental energies…”. Spiros looks at her sweetly: “I think there is more”, she speaks softly: “yes love, there is another reason. I just find it so hard to accept that the person to whom I have the most negative reactions is you”, she looks at him very lovingly: “why would I reject you more than Larry and Leslie? They are grown men too, why aren’t they triggers as much as you are?”, she is crying now, “I love you so much, Spiro, why would I reject you like that?”, she hugs him, he wraps his arms around her and hugs her tightly. Dr. Petridis explains: “Louisa, your trauma was a sexual assault and body contacts with your intimate partner carry a sexual connotation. That’s why you respond more negatively to Spiro than your grown children. It’s not just you. It is very common in women who are victims of sexual assault. It can be very difficult and draining on the couple. Sometimes it can drive them apart”. Spiros looks at her very sweetly: “that can never happen to us, Louisa, our love is too strong”, they are still hugging. They kiss. Dr. Petridis smiles: “indeed it is, thankfully…”. 

  * Later that week, Louisa begins the next big step: desensitization to contacts initiated by others. They try with Gerry and Florence first. Like with Margot, it seems child- and female-initiated contacts are not triggers. That is good news. Next, it’s contacts initiated by Spiros. Dr. Petridis instructs: “first you need to reach out and touch her waist”, even though she expected it, Louisa still shivers a lot. Spiros holds the position until the shakes stop. All the while he talks to her very sweetly: “it’s me love, Spiro, hugging you because I love you”, she looks back at him with very loving expression: “I know, I love you too”. The doctor continues: “next, you should gently and slowly pull her towards you and hug and kiss her”. That proves rather difficult. She keeps shaking and pushing back. When she does that he lets go immediately. He is worried he may trigger a flashback. After several failed attempts, she walks up to Spiros, hugs him and cries in the crook of his neck while he returns her hug, “why can’t I let you hug me, love? I hate it, I hate myself for it!”, he talks to her very sweetly: “don’t cry love, be patient, we will get there”. Dr. Petridis nods: “Louisa this step is difficult because it was a man approaching and forcefully hugging you that hurt you so much. You two will need to work on this until it gets easier. You have done it with the previous steps. You can do it again. It may just take you a little longer this time”, Louisa stops crying. She nods, then she speaks with firm voice: “I know. We will do it”, the doctor continues: “as you practice this, it is critical that you are always aware that it is coming, Louisa. No surprise hugs, Spiro, those are more difficult and can really trigger flashbacks at this stage”, “of course, I will be careful, doctor. I will make sure she is always fully aware it’s happening”. 
  * Back home, they practice, and practice. Being all too aware that she cannot take anything that comes as a surprise, Spiros comes up with the cutest way again: big puppy eyes and: “hug alert, hug alert, hug coming your way, my love”, that makes her laugh and relax. It seems to help. It does make everybody else laugh too. Good laughs. They lighten the spirit of the whole family. 
  * Indeed, it takes a few days and lots of practice, but eventually their strong love prevails and they do it. He walks up to her “hug alert”, puppy eyes, loving smile, open arms, he hugs her, she hugs back, and they kiss. Dr. Petridis smiles: “see? You’ve managed, good job!”, “another trick to use on your wife, doctor, let me explain; the tone of your voice as you say that is critical…”, they all laugh.


	12. Making progress

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louisa progresses with her recovery from PTS  
Some development with the Halikiopoulos.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Same disclosure as before. The content on PTSD is NOT medical. I have made it all up.

  * It’s mid-November. The weather is now a lot less nice. It rains very often and the island is not as beautiful. Leslie returns from his ‘shift’ with Spiros’ taxi job. He puts some money on the table “a good income today, even if we are off season now. There are still enough foreigners arriving with the ferries. And of course, there are also Greek clients”, Louisa smiles: “excellent, thank you Leslie”, “ah yes, I also stopped at the post office. Here is today’s post”. Louisa goes through it until she finds a very official-looking letter. It’s from the tribunal. She opens it, reads it, then she sits down, looking really upset. Spiros sits next to her then, asks sweetly: “what is it love?”, she hands him the letter, he reads it. Leslie is curious now: “so?”, “it’s from the Greek tribunal for foreigners. It’s a convocation to the trial for your mother’s assault. It is 4 weeks from now. Hugh is being charged with sexual assault”, Louisa’s voice is shaking: “and he is countercharging Spiro, for attacking him! The motive? Jealousy, because I was consenting to have intercourse with Hugh after accepting his marriage proposal. It is well known that Spiro is a violent man. He even uttered threats against Hugh’s life…”, Louisa is crying. She is really very upset now: “why all of these lies, why?”, he answers sweetly: “don’t worry, love, we will sort all this. He has no evidence to support his claim. Instead, we have plenty of evidence to support yours. Tomorrow we can talk with Alecko, our lawyer friend, I am sure he will agree with me”. Louisa is still crying. He takes her hands in his and talks to her sweetly: “don’t cry my love, we will be fine, I promise”, then “hug alert!”, he wraps his arms around her, she hugs back. He holds her in his arms for a while, kissing and caressing her hair softly.

  * The next morning Louisa and Spiros drive to town. He lets her drive, “because it is more fun and to give the gossipers chatting material”. They meet up with Alecko at the usual coffee bar. He reads the letter then: “don’t worry about that, it is common for the guilty part to counter-sue, but he has no chance. Too many will testify in your favor, Louisa. Everybody knows you love Spiro and you would never consent to anything with Hugh. And there are the police report, the Doctor’s report, and the independent witness testimonies. If you agree, I will officially represent you at the trial. This will give me access to those documents. I can build a strong defense for you Spiro, and a strong accusation against Hugh. The judge assigned to your case is known to be very fair and incorruptible. Hugh will receive the sentence he deserves and I am sure your charge will be exonerated, Spiro”, “thank you Alecko”. They all get up. Florence is walking by. Louisa approaches her: “hello Florence”, “hello Louisa, hello Spiro, what’s new?”. Louisa explains. As she is talking, Alecko approaches Spiros and whispers: “I am very hopeful; the judge assigned to this case is the same open-minded multilingual British judge who is also assigned to your divorce hearing, which happens to be the day after the assault hearing. I am confident we will win them both. You will have two reasons to celebrate within two days, my friend”, Spiros nods: “three actually. I will propose to Louisa when I get my divorce”, “I am sure she will agree to marry you, my friend. She really loves you”, he blushes and smiles sweetly, looking in her direction: “I like to think that… she means the world to me”.
  * In that moment, suddenly, Louisa screams with terrified voice: “no, no, Hugh, stop it, no, no, help!”, Spiros talks to her ear very sweetly: “my love, listen to me, it’s Spiro, listen to me”, she stops screaming, “open your eyes, my love”, she does and she looks at him through her tears, “who can you see, Louisa?”, she is crying: “Spiro, my love”, he opens his arms, then speaks very sweetly: “yes, and I love you”, she leans on his shoulder crying: “me too”. He holds her lovingly and gently makes her sit back on a chair. He sits next to her, hugs her, and holds her. He caresses and kisses her hair and talks to her ear with soft loving voice until she stops crying. They kiss softly. People have heard her screams and are now watching. They know about the assault and now they can see the consequences. Many in this conservative society cannot approve of their relationship outside of wedlock, but they can see that those two are truly in love. Maybe it is not that sinful a union after all… Florence and Alecko are watching too. Louisa and Spiros get up, holding hands. Florence smiles: “I am so happy you can stop those awful flashbacks so quickly, Spiro. You will get better, Louisa, you have the support you need for a full recovery”, still a bit shaken, she smiles sweetly: “I know”, Louisa and Florence hug.
  * As they return to the car, arm in arm, Spiros and Louisa walk by the prison. She does not notice that, but Spiros does. He sees Hugh in his cell, watching out of the window. He stops, turns towards her, then holding her with her back towards the jail: “hug alert, my love”, he wraps her in his arms and kisses her softly. She smiles sweetly at him, then with soft voice she asks: “what was that for, love?”, he looks at her very lovingly, still hugging her tightly: “do I need a specific reason?”, she smiles sweetly, hugging him back: “not really”, she kisses him. Hugh is watching. So, what the prison guards and his lawyer Stavros have told him is true. Those two are a couple now. He had no idea. When he returned to Corfu he just assumed she was still free.

  * As they wait for the hearing, Louisa and Spiros continue with their therapy sessions with Dr. Petridis. “how are your flashbacks doing, Louisa?”, “not well, really, I keep having them, several times each day. Spiro can always stop them, but I am feeling more and more tired. The attacks themselves drain lots of energy out of me. And the nightmares make my nights really bad. When I get up in the morning I am more tired than when I go to bed”, she is crying now, “and I know Spiro is tired too”, he talks to her with very soft and sweet voice: “I am not love, I am here to help you, don’t worry”, she is still crying: “I know, but you will get tired of helping too. You must be so sick and tired of having such a wreck as a partner. You might as well leave me”, he answers with loving yet stern voice: “my love, don’t say that. I will never get tired of you and you are NOT a wreck!”. She is really crying now. Spiros opens his arms: “hug alert!”, then he hugs her and caresses her as she cries in the crook of his neck. He kisses her hair. Dr. Petridis intervenes: “Louisa, I understand this is really tiring for you. Have you tried taking naps during the day?”, Spiros answers: “we do, we nap every afternoon now”, “that is good, you should keep doing that and you may want to add a brief nap even mid-morning”.
  * Doctor Petridis decides to change topic, there really is little he can do to help with those attacks. Spiros stopping them all is the best help Louisa can get and she is already getting it: “let’s talk about your excellent progress with desensitization therapy, shall we?”, Louisa stops crying: “yes, that’s coming along really well”, “why don’t you show me where you are at now?”. The two of them get up, Spiros approaches Louisa: “hug alert, hug alert” then he hugs her, holding her really close to him. She does not shiver. She is fine with that. She looks up at him and she kisses him. Dr. Petridis smiles: “that is such impressive progress, very good! Next, Spiro, you can try hugging Louisa from behind, just make sure you still let her know it’s coming”. They try in the doctor’s office first. Louisa stands by the doctor’s desk, giving her back to Spiros. He walks up to her: “hug alert, my love”, then he gently and slowly hugs her from behind. She has a shiver, he speaks sweetly: “it’s me, love, Spiro, you are safe with me”. Spiros holds his position until she stops shivering, then he hugs her tighter. She turns around in his arms and they kiss, “very good, this is your new homework”.

  * That evening Louisa is looking sad again. Spiros can see that. After dinner they clean up the dishes together, then: “hug alert”. He hugs her: “my love, you look tired. Let’s go to sleep early tonight”, the children are watching. They also can see that their mother is not well. This time it is not just an excuse to retire early. They all nod: “good night mother, good night Spiro”. In their bedroom, she is very quiet. They both change into their pajamas, then Louisa goes to bed. She turns her back to Spiro. He walks around the bed. He sits near her, then with loving voice he asks: “what’s wrong, my love?”, “nothing is wrong, I am just tired”, “I know you are, but I can see that there is something else”, with low voice and without looking at him she whispers: “not really”, he answers sweetly: “if you don’t want to talk about it I will respect that, but I know something is bothering you, my love. If you wish to talk, I am here. You can tell me anything. Always. You know that”, he gently caresses her hair and cheek, “I love you very much, Louisa”, she looks at him with a sweet/sad smile: “I love you too”. He leans towards her and kisses her lips sweetly. He gets into bed near her such that they face each other. Then: “hug alert”, and he puts his arms around her. She leans on his shoulder.
  * They hug quietly for a while, then, with low voice she whispers: “Spiro…”, he keeps hugging her, and answers softly: “what is it, love?”, “I have become quite the burden to you…”, he speaks with loving voice: “only if that is also a synonym for ‘huge love’ in English”, she smiles: “it isn’t”, he continues talking sweetly: “then no, my love, you are _not_ a burden, how can you say that?”, she speaks softly: “I depend on you so much…”, he replies lovingly: “that is not a burden to me”. Her voice is upset, now: “how can it not be? You have to be always near me, you had to stop working, you can hardly see your children because I scream like a mad woman, you can’t see your friends… we don’t even make love anymore…”, he answers with sweet voice: “my love, none of that is a burden to me. It’s just what is necessary in this moment of our lives together”, he kisses her tenderly, then he speaks very sweetly: “I really mean it when I say that I love you very much, Louisa. Being with you makes me very happy. Always. Even now that it is a ‘necessity’ for your PTS”, she speaks with sad voice: “but your love for me will wear out, because of the burden I have become for you”, he replies with soft and loving voice: “but you aren’t, my love! Every moment, every instant that I am with you I am happy”, she sounds sad and unconvinced: “that is very sweet on you to say, but you can’t truly mean it. I know that in actuality you are getting tired of me and you will leave me eventually”, she is crying now. He hugs her tightly, then he talks to her very sweetly: “I will never get tired of you, Louisa. I will never leave you”, he caresses her cheek and dries her tears with the bed sheet, then he talks to her softly, with very loving voice: “I want to be with you for the rest of my life, Louisa, with all of the ups and downs that life can bring. This is one difficult moment and I want to face it with you, my love. Your PTS will get better. We will overcome it together”, she looks at him, still with teary eyes: “but I am such a drag. I cry all the time. I am always tired. I look awful. How can you even bear to be with me?”, she is crying again, he looks at her very sweetly: “yes, you are tired, my love, and that is why you are seeing things so negatively right now”, he reaches for her lips and kisses her softly: “I love you very much Louisa. I will never leave you. Please, put that fear aside. I want to be with you. I am happy with you”, she answers with still teary voice: “even now?”, he looks at her very lovingly: “more than ever, my love”, he kisses her again. This time she returns his kiss. She seems more relaxed. He is still hugging her. They lay quietly for some time, until she falls asleep in his arms. He keeps looking at her sweetly for a while. Then he falls asleep too.

  * Meanwhile everyone keeps reading a lot about PTS and they all go to the countess house frequently. One evening after dinner they are all sitting in the living room, Louisa and Spiros on one sofa and the children on the other sofa and armchairs. Larry raises his head from the book he is reading: “the countess really does have many books on Psychiatry, you were correct, sister”, “yes, and she is being very nice about letting us read them. She has instructed her butler Dennis to let us into the library”, Larry nods: “yes, I have been there several times. I hardly ever see her, but Dennis always lets me in and says I can stay as long as I wish”, Louisa smiles: “instead, when Spiro and I go there Dennis says he is instructed to let the countess know. She always invites us to tea with her”, Spiros nods: “we really enjoy our conversations with her. The countess is a very interesting person. She and her husband have travelled a lot and she has so many interesting stories”, Margot agrees: “and she has always liked mother. The other day she has told me that she is taking a liking for you too, Spiro. She says she likes your witty and bright intelligence”, Spiros makes a silly smug smile: “of course!”, they all laugh then Margot continues: “she says she likes that you are a well-read man with many interests, especially literature and philosophy. Once she told me ‘who knew that taxi driver was such an interesting person? Now I understands why Louisa has fallen for him’…” they all smile, then Spiros smirks: “told you, she is _such_ a nice lady!”, Louisa smiles: “if I didn’t know her so well, that would make me jealous!”, Spiros smiles: “you have no reason for being jealous, my love, I have eyes only for you!”, she smiles at him sweetly: “that’s an exaggeration. Of course your eyes can see other women very well. But I like what you are implying”, he smiles at her very lovingly, reaches for her lips and they kiss. Margot smiles: “the countess has also told me that she sees how in love the two of you are and how eager to help mother you are, Spiro. She says you make her think of her happy marriage with her deceased husband. They were very in love too. She says that watching you two lovebirds brings happiness back to her house, at least in those moments”, Louisa smiles: “oh that is so sweet and so very sad. I have known the deep grief of losing a beloved husband. I feel so bad that she’d be going through the same experience now”, Margot nods: “I am happy she is talking to the two of you. I am sure your teas together help her a lot. She is looking so much more serene lately”, Spiros is looking at Louisa very lovingly now: “and I am happy you are over that sadness, my love”, she looks at him very sweetly: “I am over it… and I am very happy with you, now”, they gaze at each other very lovingly and exchange a long kiss.

  * One day as they are having tea with the countess she inquires: “Spiro, I have been wondering how you have learned your very fluent English. I assume not by driving taxis around Chicago”, “no, most taxi drivers spoke fairly poor English. As you know, I love reading and I wanted to take advantage of the local library to learn about American and English literature and philosophy. So, for the 8 years I lived in America I enrolled in English classes. When later I got married and Dimitra joined me in Chicago we both continued with those classes. We learned the grammar as we were learning the words by living there. We had a good teacher”, “and the teacher had a very good student”, “thank you countess. And now I am learning more and more proper English from Louisa and her children. I have the best motivation to learn, now”. He looks at Louisa very lovingly, “how about you, countess? English is not your first language either, yet you speak it very fluently. You used to live in France, didn’t you? You wouldn’t have learnt it from being full immersion”, “that’s correct, Spiro, I have never lived in an English-speaking country even if I have visited several of them. Learning English was part of my education and, like you, I read books in English. My husband and I also had several English friends and we participated in the activities of the British community in Par…”.
  * In that moment, suddenly, Louisa screams with terrified voice: “no, no, no, Hugh, leave me, stop, stop!”, he talks to her very sweetly: “Louisa, listen to me, my love. It’s Spiro, I am here with you, you are safe with me, love”, she stops screaming. He continues with very, very, sweet voice: “open your eyes, Louisa”, she does, “who do you see?”, “Spiro”, “and who is Spiro?”, she answers with teary voice: “my love”, he smiles sweetly at her: “that’s right and you are here with me, my love, safe”. She hugs him and he holds her in his arms while she cries in the crook of his neck. The attack is over. It’s the 15th today. The countess gets up: “I will give you some time to recover, Louisa. You seem to be in very good hands”, Spiros nods: “thank you countess, she will be well soon”. The countess leaves the room. She returns about 15 minutes later. Louisa is looking much better: “I am sorry countess. I am sure that must have felt rather awkward”, “don’t worry, Louisa. A friend of mine had PTS, so I am familiar with those attacks. Differently from you, though, most women have no way of stopping them. Spiro was remarkably quick at it. I am sure it will help your recovery in the long term”, she speaks with sad voice: “yes, I really hope so. These attacks are so draining”, “but you have the best support you could hope for”, she smiles sweetly: “I know…”, her and Spiros look at each other very lovingly. He is still holding her in his arms. They kiss. The countess smiles.

  * In the following days, the desensitization progresses further. Some of the steps have been more difficult than others and have taken a few days to master, but the progress is very good overall. Louisa now works on allowing Spiros to walk up to her and hug her from behind. He keeps using his ‘hug alert’ system and he happily implements the practice whenever he gets a chance. For example, she is washing dishes. He approaches her from behind and whispers sweetly: “hug alert, hug alert, my love”, he hugs her, she laughs: “I have wet hands, love”, he whispers in her ear: “not a problem, I don’t mind, I’d endure anything for a kiss from you, my love”, she laughs, then answers sweetly: “you are always such a romantic, Spiro!”, he gently turns her around and they kiss. Good progress, better and better. 

  * Since the day of the assault Spiros always takes Louisa with him whenever he visits his parents. He has explained that she needs to be nearby, in case she has an attack. They have heard about the assault. They even ask him how she is doing, but they still can’t accept her. During those visits, Louisa always sits on a bench in the garden at the back of the house, with a book. She says she doesn’t mind. One day as parents and son are sitting in the living room, chatting, they suddenly hear Louisa’s terrified screams: “no, no, no, Hugh, stop it, stop Hugh, stop, no, no, help!!”, Spiros runs over and sits near her, talking to her with very sweet, loving, voice: “my love, it’s me Spiro, I am with you, listen to my voice, love”, she stops screaming, she is listening, “open your eyes and look at me, love”, she does, “who can you see?”, she smiles sweetly through her tears: “Spiro, my love”, he speaks very sweetly: “yes, and you are safe with me, my love”, still shaking, she leans her head on his shoulder and puts her hands around his neck, crying. He whispers: “hug alert, my love”, then he hugs and caresses her and talks to her ear very, very, lovingly: “I am here with you, Louisa. I love you so much. You are safe with me, my love”, until she finally calms down in his embrace.
  * They sit on the bench hugging for a while. He is looking at her. His eyes full of love. He kisses her hair, then he whispers very sweetly: “how are you feeling, my love?”, she raises her head up from his shoulder and looks at him, her eyes are full of love too. He wipes her tears with his handkerchief and kisses her sweetly. She smiles lovingly: “I am feeling much better, my love. You should go back to your parents now. I am sorry I have interrupted your visit”, they kiss very tenderly again, then they look up and notice that Spiros’ parents are standing by the house’s door. They don’t look as judgmental and disapproving as usual. They are just watching them, looking very sad.
  * Louisa smiles: “kalo’ apogevma sas”, “yassas kyria Durrell, elate na kathiste mesa mazi mas, an sas aresete”, Louisa looks surprised: “ne, tha ithela, efcharisto’ poly’, kyria Halikiopoulou”. They go inside. Spiros and Louisa sit on an ottoman, next to each other. They have some small talk, then, Spiros’ mother speaks directly at Louisa: “lypame, kyria Durrell…”, Louisa smiles sweetly. The two women connect, somehow, “…lypame gia afto’ pou o’ kyrie Jarvis sas ekane”, Louisa nods, smiling sadly: “efcharisto’, kyria Halikiopoulou”, she looks at Spiros’ mother: “ine poly’ dyscolo, alla’ o Spiros kai tin agapi tou me voithoun poly’…”, Louisa and Spiros look at each other lovingly. She puts her arm around his waist, he whispers: “hug alert”, then he hugs and kisses her softly: “ine arga’, ti les, pame siga’, siga’, agapi mou?”, she smiles at him sweetly: “entaxi, agapi, pame spiti”, Spiros’ mother smiles: “kalispera sas, tha sas doume tin epomeni evdomada”, Louisa smiles: “sigoura, kalispera kyrie kai kyria Halikiopoulos”, “yassas mitera kai patera”, as they walk towards the car Spiros and Louisa hold their arms around each other’s backs, Spiros’ parents wave their hands: “yassas”.

(trnsl: good afternoon to you; hello Mrs. D., do come in and sit with us, if you like; yes, I’d like to, thank you very much, Mrs. H.; I am sorry, Mrs. D.; I am sorry for what Mr. Jarvis has done to you; it is very difficult, but Spiro and his love help me very much; it is late, what do you say, shall we slowly leave, my love?; ok, love, let’s go home; good evening to you, we will see you next week; for sure, good evening Mr. and Mrs. H.; goodbye mother and father; goodbye)

  * A few days later, Louisa is ready for another big step. Her and Spiros are in bed one evening. She is happily hugging his chest, her head in the crook of his neck. He is holding her in his arms and he is quite content too. After a while, she begins caressing his body. He does not respond. She continues, slowly at first, then more deliberately and closer and closer to his crotch, until she reaches his sex. As she touches and massages it, he has an erection, “my love, you knew that would happen”, she smiles sweetly: “yes, I knew it”, “I can’t reciprocate tough, I can’t touch you… unless… I have an idea”, he turns on his side with his hand on the bed between them, close to her: “why don’t you move towards my hand, love?”, she moves so close that his hand is now in between her legs. He slowly inserts his finger, while whispering softly: “it’s me Louisa, Spiro, I am touching you because I love you. You are safe with me”. She shakes slightly at first, while he continues talking to her sweetly: “I love you very much Louisa…”. She keeps looking at him, smiling at him sweetly, it’s her Spiro, her love, she is safe, she can take it. She relaxes. The shakes are over. He begins moving his finger and she has no further negative responses. Rather, she moans. He inserts a second finger and begins stimulating her. She reaches for his penis and moves her hand on it. They kiss with long sensual kisses. Then she gently pushes him on his back. She sits on him and slowly eases him into her. All the while she has her eyes open, looking at him. She shivers a fair bit at first. He looks worried, ready to interrupt the whole thing, he talks to her with loving voice: “it’s me, Spiro, you are safe with me, my love”, she looks at him very sweetly: “I know, my love”. He keeps talking to her very softly and sweetly: “I love you so much, Louisa, I’d never hurt you”, “I know, my love”. She holds the position, looking at him, until the shakes stop. She relaxes. She begins moving, slowly at first, then with deeper thrusts, until they reach climax together. Then they lay back on the bed, hugging each other. Happy. That may not have been their favorite position but it was a very important step and it went very well. They fall asleep.
  * The doctor is happy about this progress: “excellent, continue that way but please don’t try other positions. Allow this to become well established first. Don’t push things. You are doing so well. Don’t spoil it”. He keeps emphasizing it because he knows: “Louisa, your recovery will be much more difficult if you develop panic attacks towards lovemaking with Spiro”.

  * It’s the weekend, and the Petridis are visiting. They are having tea in the living room. Louisa and Spiros are sitting on a sofa, the Petridis on the other sofa, across from them. Louisa smiles: “it’s hard to imagine that in a little more than a month Christmas will be here. Time flies. Do you have plans?”, Dr. Petridis replies: “not much. We will spend the day at my parents’. With a small child it is difficult to travel”, “when I had small children, Lawrence and I travelled all over India. We even camped out in the jungle for months on end. The trick is to have helping personnel and a well-practiced plan”, Florence nods: “I admire you for that Louisa, my plans never work out”, they all smile, “if you wish to travel I’d be happy to help you make a pl… no, no, no, stop Hugh, stop, help, help!”, Spiros talks to her very sweetly: “Louisa, listen to my voice, love, it’s Spiro”, she stops screaming, “open your eyes now, love, look at me”, she does, “can you see me?”, she answers with weak voice: “yes”, “who do you see?”, she smiles: “Spiro, my love”, he smiles at her sweetly: “yes and you are safe with me, my love”, she speaks with low teary voice: “I know”, she hugs him, he hugs her, she cries in his arms. Dr. Petridis and Florence are watching and wait patiently for her to calm down, Dr. Petridis remarks: “it is always impressive to see how quickly you can stop these flashbacks, Spiro. That will help a lot in the long run”, Florence nods: “Louisa, my friend I am so happy you have such great support. You will get better. Your strong love will do it for you”, “I know, but I am so tired. These attacks wear me out so much”, she is crying again, still in Spiros’ arms, he kisses her hair: “don’t cry my love, you will get better. I will be here with you. We can do it, together”, she looks at him, they kiss. She calms down: “I am sorry…”, “don’t be sorry Louisa, we understand”, “thank you both for being so supportive”. Florence smiles: “of course, this is what friends are for”.
  * Doctor Petridis returns to the previous conversation: “we were talking about Christmas, do the two of you have plans?”, “we can’t stay too long with Spiros’ children. So far, they have never witnessed my attacks and we’d rather keep it this way. They are too young to fully understand. They’d just be scared”, Florence nods: “yes, I can see that”, “Dimitra and Christos may take the children to Athens for a couple of weeks. They will spend Christmas with her parents. I am thinking we may visit my parents on Christmas day”, Dr. Petridis frowns: “they have difficulties accepting your separation from Dimitra and your relationship with Louisa, haven’t they?”, “yes, but they seem to be coming around lately. Since the assault, they have been asking how her PTS is doing. When I visit them, Louisa comes along so that I can stop her flashbacks. She usually sits in the back yard. The other day after one of her flashbacks they asked her to sit inside with us”, he looks at Louisa lovingly: “I am hopeful. I think that even if they are very much part of this conservative society, they can still be happy for me. The way parents can be happy for their children even when they disagree with their choices”, Florence smiles: “and the two of you look so happy together!”, Louisa nods: “why don’t we invite them here at some point? Seeing us together here may convince them that what we share is a beautiful thing, love, not the sinful unmarried relationship they think”, they kiss, Florence agrees: “that seems a good idea”, Dr. Petridis nods: “yes, it is hard to imagine anyone seeing only sin in your relationship. You are so obviously happy together”, Louisa blushes: “I am sure they will change their mind eventually. We are all parents, we all know how happy we can feel when we see that our children are happy”, Spiros smiles: “yes I am hopeful”. He does not tell Louisa but what he really hopes is that they will soon be engaged to be married. The court hearing for his divorce is mid-December. Their engagement will most likely swing his parents’ attitude towards them. And being engaged to Louisa will make him a very, very, happy man. He smiles at her very sweetly. He reaches for her lips. They kiss again. Florence and Dr. Petridis smile at each other, holding hands.

  * Although things are progressing well with desensitization therapy, the flashbacks continue at the same level as before. They don’t increase, which is good, but they are not declining either. At this point, Dr. Petridis would hope for some decline. He does not tell Louisa but he begins to feel that he is not being able to help her properly. He is not a psychiatrist after all, only a family doctor.

  * A week after their previous visit, Louisa and Spiros return to his parents’. They don’t really know what to expect, but this time she brings baked good she has made, like for that disastrous first visits. They call at the door. They greet each other then, Spiros’ mother invites them in: “elate pedia’, kathiste edo”, she shows them to the living room. Spiros’ father sits on an armchair. Spiros and Louisa sit on the ottoman next to each other, Louisa hands the box she is carrying to Spiros’ mother: “ekana afta’ simera to proi’, ine poly’ fresca”, “efcharisto’ kyria Durrell”, “borite na me kalesete Louisa, an thelete”, “entaxi, Louisa”, they smile at each other. Spiros’ mother serves Greek coffee. She hands a cup to Louisa: “metrio, gia sas, nomizo”, “nai, efcharisto’”. Then she puts a glass of cold water by each coffee and hands each of them a small plate with a selection of Greek sweets she has made. They sit down, sip the coffee, and eat the sweets, “ta glyka’ ine poly’ nostima, kyria Halikiopoulou”, “efcharisto’, Louisa, kai ta glyka’ sas itane nostima”. Louisa is surprised. She thought those sweets had ended up in the rubbish. They have small talk for a bit, then, Spiros’ mother speaks with low voice, looking down: “Louisa… lypame…”, Louisa looks at her. They are all quiet. Spiros’ mother continues: “…lypame gia sas ipa kaka’ pragmata…”, then she looks up at Louisa looking really sad. Spiros and his father look very surprised, Louisa smiles sweetly: “den piraxi, oloi leme pragmata pou den nomizoume”, Spiros whispers to her ear: “hug alert, my wonderful diplomat”, then he hugs her and kisses her cheek. She looks at him, smiling sweetly, then she turns to his parents: “tha imoun poly charoumeni an irthate sto spiti mas gia kafe’ to epomeno savvatokyriako”, Spiros’ mother gladly accepts: “nai, tha thelame poly’, efcharisto’, Louisa”, Spiros, still hugging Louisa, smiles happily: “tha sas paralavoume me to aftokinito mas”.

(trnsl: come in, children, sit down here; I have made these this morning, they are very fresh; thank you Mrs. D; you can call me Louisa if you wish; OK, Louisa; middle level of sugar for you, I think; yes, thank you; the sweets are very tasty, Mrs. H.; thank you, Louisa, even your sweets were tasty; Louisa… I am sorry; …I am sorry that I have said bad things to you; it doesn’t matter, we all say things we don’t think; I’d be very happy if you came to our house for coffee next weekend; yes, we’d like that very much, thank you; we will pick you up with our car)

  * When they leave his parents’ house, Spiros drives Louisa to the beautiful lookout over the cliffs, “why did you drive here, love?”, he smiles sweetly, looking at her with very loving eyes: “I just wanted to be alone with you in this beautiful place. The perfect backdrop for your beauty, my love… hug alert”, he hugs and kisses her tenderly: “I love you so much”, she smiles at him sweetly: “I love you too”, they kiss again, “I am such a lucky man. You are so wonderful. Even my parents had to admit it”, she smiles at him: “I knew they did not mean those things. They are parents. How can they not be happy if their child looks happy?”, he looks at her very, very, lovingly: “I am very happy with you, Louisa”, “and I am very happy with you”. They kiss again, in the car, against the orange/pink light of the beautiful evening sky. 

  * Gerry and Galini are taking a walk up the cliff. They are looking at animals and they are also holding hands, stopping for soft innocent kisses as they walk. They have just reached the top of the cliff. Galini looks down at the road beneath them: “Spiro’s car is there”, she blushes. Gerry notices that. He approaches her and looks down too. He sees his mother and Spiros kissing in the car. He smiles sweetly at Galini: “yea, they do that a lot. They are very in love”, he hugs her and gives her a kiss. She returns it. They keep kissing. Their kisses become less and less innocent. Their mouths open, their tongues finding each other for the first time. As they kiss sensually, Gerry touches her breasts through her clothes. She lets him do it. Then he reaches down with his hand, towards her sex, through her shorts. She lets him do it at first, then she lowers her hand and gently pushes his hand away. He stops and blushes: “sorry…”, she smiles sweetly. They kiss again then they continue walking, holding hands.

  * In the privacy of their bedroom Louisa and Spiros keep ‘practicing’ their lovemaking, almost every night, sometimes even in the morning. Always with the same position, until it becomes really easy. One day Louisa does something different: as they are making love with her sitting on Spiros, she leans forward, hugs his chest, and kisses him. She starts shivering really hard, “Louisa, my love, look at me, keep your eyes open, this is Spiro, look at me. My love, move back up, move away from me, please, move”. She does look at him, but she does not move. She stares at him with determined gaze: “I love you, Spiro, I have no reason to move away from you”, as she says that, she is still shaking badly. Now Spiros is really worried that she will have a panic attack. She is so close! He has to fight back his impulse to grab her and push her away. That would definitely trigger an attack. Instead, he talks with very sweet voice, but he also sounds quite apprehensive: “my love, don’t shake, you are safe with me, I love you, but please, please, move back”, she answers with sweet but stern voice: “I know I am safe with you, my love, you would never hurt me, why would I stop hugging you?”. She doesn’t move, she keeps holding onto his body, looking at him with a loving, yet determined, gaze. All the while he keeps talking to her sweetly to keep her in the present reality, away from the traumatic memories. Eventually, the shivering stops and she relaxes on his chest, hugging him tightly. He holds her in his arms and talks to her sweetly, yet a bit angry: “you scared me love, why did you do that? Why didn’t you wait for Dr. Petridis to tell us what to do next?”. She answers with loving voice: “I just couldn’t wait anymore. I wanted to hug you while we make love. I miss that so much”, he speaks with very loving voice too: “I miss that too, but you should have waited. What if you triggered a flashback?”, she smiles sweetly: “I know, I am sorry, I have acted on impulse”. While still hugging his chest, she kisses him and she begins moving, slowly. Still inside of her, he hardens again. They both moan. Then she gently pulls him up, to their beloved seated position. They hug each other tenderly, and make love that way, finally”. 
  * The next day they tell Dr. Petridis. He makes a stern smile: “you have risked a lot, Louisa. You were lucky you got away with it. I am happy for you, of course, I just wish you had not risked so much. What will you do if lovemaking becomes a trigger for your attacks? Your life would become so much more difficult. Please, don’t try anything else yet, especially the missionary position, no matter how much you miss it”, she looks embarrassed and blushed: “yes, I promise. I am sorry I took that risk, doctor… but now I am happy I have”. She is holding Spiros’ hand. The doctor smiles: “I know you are…”.


	13. The only psychiatrist on Corfu

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The only psychiatrist on Corfu accepts to take Louisa on.  
The identity of the psychiatrist is a bit of a surprise.  
Or maybe it isn't...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like before, as you read, keep in mind that this is not a medical report on PTSD. It's fiction. All made up. As far as I know there is no one-shot easy fix.

  * One day, as he approaches the countess’ house, Larry comes across Dr. Petridis who is exiting the door: “hello doctor, are you reading those books too?”, “yes, the countess has a better selection than I do”. That is not the whole truth, though. Dr. Petridis has come to talk to the countess. He knows the secret the countess does not want people to know about her. She is a retired Psychiatrist. Back in the days, when her and her beloved husband lived in Paris, she ran a very successful practice. She was internationally renowned and a world expert on PTS. She has even published several scientific articles on it. “Dr. Mavrodaki, I am here in the hope to convince you to take on Louisa as your patient”, she slowly shakes her head: “you know that I am retired and I don’t practice anymore. My husband and I moved to Corfu so that I could be away from it all”, “yes, I know and respect that. As you know, I have kept your secret for all of these years. I wouldn’t be asking if Louisa wasn’t such a good friend. She is a friend of my family and I believe she is your friend too”, she nods: “yes, she is”, “well I am worried that I am not helping her appropriately. I am doing my best. I am seeing her and Spiro every day. She is making very good progress with desensitization therapy, but she is not progressing on the memory flashbacks. Even though Spiro is being remarkably dedicated and successful at stopping them all, she keeps having several flashbacks each day and night and it is being rather draining on them. I suspect the re-enactment procedure you have developed may be of help, but I am not comfortable implementing it myself. As you know it carries high risk”, “do you deem they may be good candidates for it?”, “I think their progress with desensitization therapy is a good indicator that they may be. As I am sure you know, they are very in love and they are both working really hard. Thanks to that, they have made truly striking progress”, “yes, I have been observing them when we have tea together. Their body language is more and more natural. A clear indication that she is increasingly more comfortable with physical contacts with him”, “even the way Spiro can stop all of her attacks is telling”, “yes, one day she had a flashback here and Spiro stopped it within seconds. I was very impressed with that”, “yes, she is very attached to him and she responds to his voice very well. And he is very dedicated to her recovery. He is always by her”, the countess, smiles: “yes, they are very in love, it shows in everything they do”, he nods: “even their intimacy is progressing well and remarkably quickly for a case of sexual assault, almost too quickly”, she nods: “those are all good indicators… a loving and supporting partner to whom the patient is strongly bonded…”, “…is the best predictor of positive outcome for the PTS patient”. They laugh. They both know the mantra very well. She pauses for several seconds, thinking: “Dr. Petridis, you have convinced me. Please let them know that I am happy to talk to them about beginning therapy sessions with me, if they wish. I will hold my judgment as to whether or not they are suitable for the re-enactment protocol, but I do agree with your assessment that they may be good candidates. Also, please, ask them not to reveal my profession to anyone. Not even their families.”, Dr. Petridis smiles: “I will. Thank you very much Dr. Mavrodaki, I will talk to them later today, at our usual session”.

  * That evening Louisa and Spiros have their usual session with Dr. Petridis. They have come a long way with the desensitization process. Now Spiros can easily walk up to her and “hug alert” then hug her, either from the front or from the back. “this is really very good progress. Next, I think you are ready for more natural hugs. Spiros, you should just walk up to Louisa and hug her, with no overt alerts. She should still see you coming, no surprises yet, but you don’t need to explicitly let her know. Just naturally walk up to her and hug her. Spiros tries. She has a small shiver, then she quickly hugs him back. The doctor smiles: “excellent, you should keep practicing this as your homework”
  * “Now I have good news for you: I have found a Psychiatrist who is willing to take you on, Louisa. This person is a world expert on PTS who happens to have retired to Corfu. This is a great chance for you. I feel that as a family doctor I am being able to help with your desensitization process, but I am not being of much help with your memory flashbacks. I think a specialist will be able to do so much more for you”, “but we are happy and really grateful with all the help you are providing Dr. Petridis”, “thank you Louisa, and I am happy to help you, but I think this doctor can be of greater help, you should really consider this option”, Spiros looks confused: “who is this doctor? I have never heard of a psychiatrist on the island”, “that’s because this person does not want anybody to know their profession and before I make their name I need you to promise that you will not reveal it to anyone, not even your family”. Louisa and Spiros look surprised but of course they agree. Dr. Petridis continues: “well, you actually know her very well, she is Dr. Mavrodaki”, “the countess?”, “yes”, “oh, that explains why she knows so much about PTS and she has all of those books on Psychiatry!”, “yes, Louisa, she used to run a large practice in Paris and she had hundreds of patients. In the end, it took a toll on her, though. That’s when her and her late husband decided to retire here and never reveal her profession. I have found out only because I read some of her scientific publications. When I guessed it, she made me promise I’d keep it a secret. Earlier today I talked to her about you and I was happy she’d agree to take you on. She has not taken on any patients since her retirement, but she said she’d make an exception for you, Louisa, because she is very fond of you and your family and she likes you too, Spiro”, he makes a silly face: “of course, who wouldn’t like me? I am so handsome!”, they all laugh, “well, she says you can begin tomorrow at 5:30, the same time as our usual sessions”. 

  * The next day they go to the countess’ house. Dennis opens the door and lets them through to the living room where they usually have tea. Tea is already there. Dr. Mavrodaki is sitting in her usual armchair and they sit on the usual sofa, side by side. It seems unreal to think that this time they are here for a medical session. Dennis serves tea, “thank you Dennis, now, please, leave us alone and close the door. No interruptions, please”, Louisa smiles shyly: “thank you very much for agreeing to take me on as your patient, Dr. Mavrodaki. I really appreciate it”, “as I am sure Dr. Petridis has told you, I ask that you do not reveal my profession to others, not even your families. You can tell them that you are seeing a Psychiatrist, but not who that is”, “yes of course we will respect your desire”, “so you have been dealing with PTS and Dr. Petridis tells me that the two of you have made very good progress with desensitization therapy”, they nod, “knowing you, I am not surprised. You are clearly very attached and Spiros is being very involved with your recovery, Louisa”, she looks at him lovingly: “he is the best support I could hope for”, the doctor smiles: “and a caring and supporting partner to whom the patient is strongly bonded is the best predictor of positive outcome for PTS”, he looks at Louisa lovingly: “I am determined to be that partner”, Dr. Mavrodaki nods: “I can see that”.
  * “Now why don’t you show me where you two are at with desensitization?”. They get up, Spiros walks up to Louisa, hugs her, she hugs him, they kiss, all very naturally, with no fear responses on her side”, “that was excellent! When you began, how easily could you take physical contacts, Louisa?”, “from Spiro almost none, not even if I initiated them. I’d shiver violently and I’d get really close to a full-blown panic attack. With Florence Petridis, Margot, and Gerry, I never had any problems. With Larry and Leslie, I could touch them, but I’d shiver a lot if they touched me”, “what about now?”, “now I have no problems with Spiro and my grown-up sons, as long as I am aware the contact is coming. We have not tried unexpected contacts with them yet. We have tried with Gerry, Margot, and Florence and that went very well”, “so it seems that the triggers are your intimate partner and other grown up men”, “yes, Spiro more than my children”, “that is normal”, she looks and sounds sad: “I know, but it is still hard for me to accept”, “I know, Louisa, but the two of you have made really excellent progress in a relatively short time”, Spiros smiles sweetly, looking at Louisa: “we are working hard on that…”, the doctor smiles: “and it shows. You are clearly very motivated”. Now I would like to talk about your personal relationship and for this first time I’d like to talk to the two of you separately, before continuing with couple therapy. Spiro, would you mind going back to the foyer? There is a sofa you can sit on there”, “of course, doctor”.

  * “Louisa, I hope this is not too embarrassing”, she smiles: “well, it is, but not as bad as with Dr. Petridis. At least you are a woman. Dr. Petridis is very proper and professional, but still a man”, the countess smiles: “yes that’s understandable… so, let’s start from the beginning… do you love Spiro?”, she blushes: “yes, very much”, “does he love you?”, “yes”, “how do you know?”, she smiles sweetly: “he tells me very often and I can see it”, “is Spiro your only current sexual partner, Louisa?”, “yes, of course!”, “how about before him?”, “there was my husband, who died more than 10 years ago”, “no one else?”, “no”, “did you have a happy marriage?, Did you love your husband?’, “yes, we were very happy and in love. It was very difficult when he died… I couldn’t be with anybody else after him… until now”, “do you love Spiro the way you loved your husband?”, she smiles sweetly: “yes and no. I love Spiro very much, but it is different with him. I think it is a more ‘mature’ kind of love, because I am older. It is deeper… and more aware… I was very in love with Lawrence too, except that I was less aware of things then, more naïve”, “are you happy with Spiro?”, she smiles: “very”, she blushes again and looks down. The doctor waits a few seconds: “has that changed since the assault?”, “no… yes…”, “how?”, “well, I am still happy with him, but our relationship is different now. I depend on him a lot more”, “for support?”, “yes and because he can stop those awful flashbacks”, “no one else can?”, “no, I only respond to his voice”, “a testament to your love for him”, she smiles sweetly: “yes… but…”, she hesitates, “but…?”, “but it makes me very dependent on him”, “is that bad?”, “not necessarily, but it puts a lot of pressure on him. Lots of responsibility”, “is that a problem?”, she sounds sad now: “well it could become a problem if he wears out”, “physically?”, “yes physically, but also psychologically. What if he gets tired of the responsibility?”, “are you worried that he may leave you?”, “I don’t think he would. I know he loves me, but…”, Louisa is looking sad now, the countess smiles sweetly: “but…”, “well, when I allow my fears and insecurities to take over, then, yes, I am worried he may get tired of me because I am leaning on him so much”, “have you talked to him about that?”, “yes, a few times”, she smiles sweetly: “he says he would never leave me and never get tired of me”, “that’s sweet”. Louisa smiles: “yes, he is a very sweet man”, she blushes again.
  * “Are you happy with your sex life?”, Louisa is very blushed now: “very”, “what makes you say that?”, she looks down, embarrassed: “Spiro is a very sweet and caring lover. He always makes sure we reach climax together …and he is very affectionate”, she is really blushed now, but she continues: “…before the assault, we used to always hug very tenderly during lovemaking”, “how about now?”, “we just recently started doing that again but we are not back to the way it was before yet”, “what is still different?”, still blushed and looking down, she answers with low, embarrassed, voice: “I used to really enjoy the so-called missionary position because even with him in charge we still reach climax together. I find it’s the quintessential proof of how caring he is”, now she is very blushed and continues looking down, “…and I like to be completely his, in his arms, without holding anything back”, she is _really_ embarrassed now. Dr. Mavrodaki can see that. She smiles: “that is beautiful, Louisa. Most women don’t like that position _because_ he is in charge and they don’t get enough pleasure. That you instead would prefer it because you experience that pleasure together is, indeed, a sign of a caring lover and the very deep bond between the two of you”, she blushes again and nods with a shy smile: “yes…”.
  * “You said that you now hug during sex”, “yes”, “that is remarkably soon for a person with PTS caused by a sexual assault less than two months ago”, she blushes and looks down: “I pushed the limit on that”, the doctor looks puzzled, “Dr. Petridis had told us to only do it with me sitting on top of him because that position involves very little physical contact,”, she is still very blushed and continues looking down: “but I really missed hugging him, so one day I did. While on top of him I leaned forward and hugged him”, the countess looks really surprised now: “and that did not trigger a flashback?”, “it almost did. I was shaking very badly. Spiros was really, really, worried. He kept telling me that I should move away from him”, “but you didn’t”, “no, I was determined to make it work. I kept looking at him to remind myself that was Spiro, not Hugh. And he kept talking to me, also reminding me that I was with him and I was safe”, she smiles sweetly, “but he also kept saying I should move back”, “he did not try to push you away?”, “no, he knew that would likely trigger an attack”, “he really does know how to handle your PTS very well”, she smiles sweetly: “he does”, “you have risked a lot, Louisa”, she blushes for the millionth time: “I know, even Dr. Petridis said so. I do realize I was very stupid, but I am also happy I did it”, the doctor smiles sweetly: “not stupid, just impatient”, Louisa blushes again and looks down, “is everything else the same as before with your sex life now?”, “no, we are still at a stage where all of the initiative has to come from me. I liked it when he also took the initiative. He is very sweet at that too. And lovemaking just feels more natural when the initiative comes from both partners”.
  * The countess switches gear a bit: “back to your relationship. How long have you been together?”, “about 6 months”, “in the big scheme of things that is not very long”, she smiles: “I know, but we were good friends for much longer than that”, “how about love, how long have you been in love with him?”, she blushes: “I don’t know exactly, it grew gradually, but I kept fighting my feelings because he had a family”, “but at some point you must have realized it had happened”, “yes, that was more than two years ago, maybe even three”, “do you think your current relationship is affected by how far back your feelings go?”, she nods and smiles sweetly: “yes, I think it’s much stronger and deeper than a typical 6-month relationship because of that”, “how about friendship? You said that you have been very good friends for long…”, “yes, that’s what I really love about our relationship. We talk about everything. I feel that he truly understands me. He often knows what I am thinking even before I speak. And I often know what he is thinking too. So, it goes both ways”, “do you ever have disagreements?”, she nods: “yes, of course, but we solve them”, “how?”, “we talk about them”.
  * “Is there anything you’d change in your relationship with Spiro?”, she smiles sweetly: “not really, I am very happy with him”, “is there anything else you’d want me to know about your intimate life, Louisa?”, “no that is it, really”, “good, then we can end this here, but I want you to know that you and me can have private conversations, whenever you wish”, she looks at the countess smiling: “thank you, doctor, but it seems unlikely I will need that. I have no secrets with Spiro. Had he been here I would have said the exact same things I have just told you”, “even what you have told me about how in love you were with your husband?”, she smiles: “yes, even that. He knows…”, Dr. Mavrodaki smiles: “very good, would you mind going to the foyer now and sending Spiro in?”.

  * “Hello Spiro, please sit down. This conversation may be a bit embarrassing”, he smiles: “I know”, “would you prefer me to look the other way?”, “it doesn’t matter”, “would it be easier if I was a man?”, he nods: “probably, but then it’d be more difficult for Louisa, so I am happy you are a woman”, “for her, not for you?”, “yes”, “very well, let’s start with the bases then, do you love Louisa?”, he smiles sweetly: “you know that I do, very much”, she smiles: “yes, I know. How does that compare to your previous sentimental experiences?”, “it’s completely different. I have never felt like this before”, “not even with your wife?”, he shakes his head: “not even”, “how about other women you may have had in your life?”, “those were before my wife. They were all rather superficial relationships, mostly based on sex”, “what about now, isn’t sex important?”, he smiles: “yes, but it is not the foundation of my feelings for Louisa”, “what is then?”, he makes a sweet smile: “a very strong connection, both emotional and intellectual. I love her with my heart and with my brain”, “your brain?”, he nods: “yes she is my best friend, I feel I can talk to her about anything and she will understand me”, “and do you understand her?”, he looks at her smiling: “I do my best but you should ask that question to Louisa”, the doctor smiles: “fair enough…”. 
  * In that moment they hear Louisa’s terrified voice screaming from the foyer: “no, no, no, Hugh, stop, stop, help!”, Spiros runs over. The countess can hear his voice talk to her very sweetly. The screaming stops. The countess walks there. She finds Spiros and Louisa sitting on the sofa in the foyer. She is crying in the crook of his neck. He is holding her in his arms, talking softly to her ear. The countess walks back to the living room and waits patiently. After several minutes Spiros returns. He closes the door and sits on the sofa in front of the countess: “she is fine, now. We can continue, doctor”.
  * “You were saying that you and Louisa have a very strong sentimental and intellectual connection”, he smiles sweetly: “we do”, “you have been living together for about 6 months, correct?”, “yes”, “so you have reached this very strong connection in this short time…”, “not really, we were friends before, since she moved to Kerkyra* with her children more than 3 years ago”, “how about love, how long have you been in love with her?”, he blushes: “almost from the very beginning, I was immediately attracted to her beauty and her personality. Then my feelings grew over time, despite my best efforts”, the countess smiles, he continues: “because I am married with two young children, I did my best to avoid falling for Louisa. But I couldn’t help it”. 

(*trnsl: Kerkyra = the Greek name for Corfu)

  * “Has your love for Louisa changed since the assault?”, “no”, “how about your brain connection?”, “not even, it’s still there”, “so nothing has changed?”, he smiles sadly: “well, a lot has changed, but not my feelings for her. Now she needs my support much more than before”, “is that difficult for you?”. He thinks a bit before answering. He looks at her with sad eyes: “yes…”, “how so?”, “those flashbacks are very hard on her. I am always worried that I am not saying or doing the right things. She is very fragile. She needs a lot of support and I often feel inadequate”, “because you think you should do more?”, “more… I don’t know, I am always with her, in case she has an attack”, “so not more?”, “maybe not more quantitatively, but better qualitatively”, “how far would you go to help her?”, he answers with a determined tone of voice: “as far as it is necessary”, “even if it may mean that you need to do things that make you uncomfortable? Things that go against your own self and principles?”, he looks puzzled now: “I am not sure what you mean, but yes, I’d do anything to help Louisa”, “why?”, he looks serious: “because I am selfish”. She looks at him, surprised: “selfish?”, “yes, I love her so much that I want her back the way she was before”, “is that selfish?”, “…it’d make me happy”, “how about her?”, he smiles sweetly: “I want her to be happy too, of course”, “…and that’s not selfish”, “yes, it is”, “how?”, “when she is happy, I am happy too”, “then one may argue that love is always selfish”, he looks at the doctor smiling: “maybe it is…”.
  * “How would you describe your sexual relationship with Louisa?”, “perfect”. She can’t help smiling: “what makes it _perfect_?”, he is embarrassed now. He looks down: “we have a really very deep connection. We are so well in tune, that we always come together”, “that means that you wait for her climax”, he blushes, still looking down: “yes, and I always prepare her well before intercourse. And she is so open to me that I can see her pleasure mounting and I can time mine to hers perfectly”, “so you do that but she enables it?”, he nods, smiling sweetly: “yes, and she helps too”, “how?”, he blushes again: “she monitors my reactions and she adjusts her lovemaking so that we can come together”, “so she is open to you and you are also open to her”, he is still blushed: “yes, she taught me so”, “you didn’t before?”, “not as much. I was so concentrated on her that I was not showing myself to her enough”, “how do you know that?”, he smiles sweetly: “she told me, then she taught me to open up to her”, “this means that she felt she could talk to you about such intimate aspects of your relationship…”, he nods, smiling sweetly: “yes, and I am happy she did. Now our relationship is better, thanks to that”.
  * “How has your sex life changed since the assault?”, “for about one month we did not have any. She was so traumatized that she could take very little physical contacts from me. Certainly not sexual contacts”, “how about now?”, “now it’s very good, almost back the way it was before”, “almost…”, he blushes again: “yes there is a position we both used to enjoy and we have not tried yet. Dr. Petridis strongly advised against it because it is too similar to the assault”, “what position?”, “with me on top of her”, “do you enjoy that position?”, he is blushed and looking down: “yes”, “how about Louisa, does she enjoy it?”, “yes…”, “how do you know?”, he smiles sweetly: “she has told me, many times”, “do you think that is common?”, “no, most women don’t like it because the man is too in charge. They need more control to achieve their own pleasure”, “so why do you think Louisa likes it?”, he blushes again, and looks down: “she likes being completely mine”, “has she told you so?”, he is still blushed: “yes, and I make sure she enjoys it. She always reaches climax with me”, “do you think she is being truthful?”, “yes, she is very open during our lovemaking. I am sure she is not pretending”, “do you miss making love in that position?”, he blushes: “yes, but I can do without if that is easier for her PTS”, “is anything else different in your intimacy from before?”, he nods: “yes, now all of the initiative has to come from her”, “do you mind that?”, he shakes his head: “not really, but within a couple it is more natural when things are reciprocal”. 
  * “Is Louisa your only current sexual partner, Spiro?”, he looks up, surprised at the question: “yes of course!”, “you could have other women, probably easily…”, he looks at the doctor, almost upset: “I wouldn’t! I love her”. “Have you ever thought that if you were to leave Louisa now your life would be a lot easier?”, he is still looking at the doctor: “did Louisa tell you that? That is her fear. She asked me about it a few times. I’ve told her that I would never leave her. I love her. I left my wife for her. I want to be with her for the rest of my life. I want us to share happy moments and face difficulties together. Right now, I want to help her with her PTS”. “Is there anything you’d change in your relationship with Louisa?”, he smiles sweetly: “no, I am very happy with her. I only wish she would get better, especially those flashbacks. They are so hard on her…”. “is there anything else you think I should know about your intimacy or your relationship with Louisa?”, “no, not really”, “very well, would you mind calling her back?”.

  * “Having talked to the two of you separately, I can see that you are very open to each other. What you have told me individually was in remarkable agreement”. Spiros and Louisa look at each other with loving eyes and smile. They knew it. The countess notices that. She smiles: “there is one comment I’d like to make: your progress in intimacy is striking for a case of sexual assault. I think that speaks to your very deep love. However, it also worries me”. Spiros, sounds puzzled: “worry?”, “yes, my concern is that you are so confident in your lovemaking that you will end up compromising it. I fear that you may push it too far and trigger a memory flashback during sex. If that was to happen you’d experience quite the regression, Louisa. I think Dr. Petridis has already told you this. I just want to reemphasize that at this stage you should _not_ attempt the man-on-top position you both seem to miss. That is really very high risk. Much too similar to the assault”. Spiros smiles: “we won’t, I promise”. Louisa nods, embarrassed.

  * “Let’s move away from that topic for now. Let’s talk about your flashbacks, Louisa. How frequent are they?”. Spiros takes out his notebook: “they range from 18-25 during the day to 8-10 at night”, “can you see any patterns in your notes? Are they increasing or decreasing?”, “I have been plotting them”. He hands her a two-line graph representing the daytime and nighttime flashbacks. The doctor looks surprised, he smiles: “Theo has taught me how to make plots when he learned that I was collecting these data. As you can see, they fluctuate a bit from day to day, but after an initial small increase, they have generally been pretty stable”, “this pattern is actually rather good. In most patients those flashbacks tend to progressively increase for quite some time after the trauma, until they reach a plateau”, Louisa sounds sad: “I know, but still, that is the most troubling aspect of my PTS. They are so frequent that they interfere with our normal activities. Spiro had to stop working to be always near me. Larry and Leslie are now taking turns to drive his taxi. We hardly leave the house. Spiro’s children can no longer come to our house, and we only visit them for brief periods. Also, I get very tired and that makes it difficult to maintain a positive outlook”, her voice is broken now: “I often cry…”, she leans on Spiros. He, talks to her softly: “hug alert my love!”, then he puts his arm around her and holds her close to him. “Why do you think your flashbacks are not increasing the way they do for most patients, Louisa?”, “I think it’s because Spiro stops them all. He is always near me and he never allows those horrible memories to run completely”, “where do they stop?”, “at the very beginning, when Hugh attacked me after I rejected his marriage proposal”, “so you have never re-lived the full assault?”, she shakes her head: “no”, “I tend to agree. That is the most likely reason for the flashbacks are not increasing. And it is testament to your very deep bond”. They nod. They know. 

  * Doctor Mavrodaki sits back with her eyes closed and is quiet for a while. Spiros and Louisa look at each other. Is she falling asleep? They are both startled when after a few minutes the doctor suddenly begins talking: “there is one way that your daytime and nighttime flashbacks could improve a lot, quite rapidly. Possibly even eliminated altogether”. Spiros and Louisa look at each other with very hopeful expression: “that would be marvelous”, “yes, Louisa, but the procedure carries risks and it is not recommended for everyone. Dr. Petridis has referred you to me because he thinks that you may be good candidates. Knowing you from before and after talking to the two of you together and separately, I tend to agree with his assessment, but there is no guaranteeing that it’d be risk-free for you. The ultimate decision will have to rest with you”.
  * The countess pauses again, then continues: “have you read about the re-enactment procedure?”. They both look scared now. It is obvious that they have. Spiros nods: “it was mentioned in one of Dr. Petridis’ books, the one in Greek, and it is in many of the books you have here”, “do you know what it entails?”, Spiros continues: “the patient is made re-live the trauma. I don’t fully understand how that helps, though”, “do you, Louisa, do you know how it can help?”, she shakes her head: “not truly, something to do with memory modifications?”, “yes, during re-enactment the memory is replayed in full. As such, it becomes accessible to modification and new information can be added to it. That information can later be used to stop the flashbacks. In your case, we could use Spiro’s voice to stop the re-enactment and introduce him into the memory. His presence later can become a way out of the flashback. Basically, what Spiro’s voice now does from outside can become integrated in the memory itself. The flashback then becomes capable of stopping itself. When the procedure works really well, that interruption can be so early that the flashback doesn’t really happen. In many cases, it may still happen but be very brief and not as intrusive in daily life. The patient can learn to cope with it quite well”. Spiros smiles sadly: “that sounds really very good, but it seems really awful for the patient”, he looks at Louisa: “you’d have to go through that horrible experience again, my love”.
  * “You mentioned risks, doctor”, “yes Louisa, there are a number: first, the update of the memory can go wrong. If the interruption is not successfully introduced into the memory, the re-enactment itself can strengthen the memory and make it more, not less, likely to be replayed. Essentially, the patient ends up being traumatized again by the re-enactment. In that case, the flashbacks can worsen instead of improving. Second, in rare instances the partner gets added to the memory, but he becomes negatively associated with the trauma. In that case, the patient can develop a strong aversion to her partner”, Spiros and Louisa look at each other, scared.
  * “The third reason has to do with how the re-enactment itself is performed. Do you know how that works?”. Louisa shakes her head: “I don’t”. Spiros looks very pale now. He whispers: “I have to do it. I have to be the assailant during the re-enactment”, “yes, Spiro, and in order for it to work, you’d have to be very realistic, you’d have to do everything I tell you, even if you hate it”. Louisa looks at Spiros. He is looking down. They are both very pale now. She speaks with low voice: “but how does making Spiro act like my assailant help? Wouldn’t it reverse all of the progress we have made with desensitization?”, “it can, but it doesn’t when the couple is very, very, bonded. When she completely trusts her partner, he can become integrated in the memory in a positive way”, Spiros speaks with weak sad voice: “but how, if in that moment he is assaulting her?”, the doctor explains: “during the re-enactment it’s the original memory that plays back. In her mind the assailant is the original perpetrator, not her partner. It is only when the memory is interrupted by his voice that the partner becomes apparent to her. At that point, he can be integrated in the memory as her savior. Also, even during the worst moments of the re-enactment, deep inside she knows that her partner would never truly do it to her. This is one reason for this procedure works best for really bonded couples”. Louisa and Spiros look at each other. Their eyes are full of love, but also fear.
  * “There are other potential downfalls from the procedure. Even when it is successful, its implementation can be so hard on the partner that he can develop a strong sense of guilt. In addition, she can develop resentment for what he has done, especially if the procedure does not have the desired positive outcome. Those feelings can become so strong that they interfere with the couple’s bond. They can drive them apart”. Spiros and Louisa both look really sacred now.
  * “I do realize this is a lot to take in right now. I would neither expect, nor advise, that you take a decision today. You will need to think carefully about this and you should talk to each other. I am happy, of course, to talk about it again later and to answer any questions”. Spiros and Louisa nod. “Also, I want you to feel free to reach any decisions, on this. Don’t feel pressured either way. It would be perfectly fine if you decided not to go with re-enactment. I’d be happy to continue helping you through more traditional means, Louisa”, she nods: “thank you doctor Mavrodaki”.

  * “Let’s go back to the one protocol that is working so well for you. Desensitization. After what I have seen, I think you may be ready for the next big step. Spiro, you should try approaching and gently touching Louisa even when she is not aware of it. Not with a scary, startling, surprise. Delicately. A caress while she is looking the other way, an arm on her shoulders, a soft loving hug from behind, for example. Be gentle and ready to stop if Louisa seems to respond too strongly. We cannot practice these here, so you will need to gauge it yourself as you try. You have done this many times. I am sure you can exercise your own judgment. “I will try doctor and of course I will be gentle”, “good, and tomorrow you can let me know how it went”.


	14. A difficult decision

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louisa and Spiros come to a decision. Not an easy one.  
Good thing they have a distraction. Tea with the Halikiopoulos....

  * Spiros and Louisa leave the countess' house. Both in very deep thoughts. This is not going to be an easy decision. That evening at the dinner table they both look very serious. Larry is watching them: “so how did your first visit with your new mystery psychiatrist go?”, Louisa smiles: “very well, they seem very knowledgeable and I am hopeful they will be able to help”, “but you both look very serious tonight. Is it anything this doctor has done or said?”, “yes, they mentioned a new potential procedure that we both need to think about”, “what is it?”, “sorry Larry, I’d rather not talk about it right now. I need to clarify it in my mind first. We will let you know after the two of us have decided”, “of course, sorry mother, I did not mean to be intrusive”, she smiles: “I know, Larry, thank you for caring so much”, her puts his hand on his mother’s on the table: “of course, mother!”
  * That night Spiros and Louisa retire very early. They want to talk privately. They lay in bed, facing and hugging each other. Louisa speaks first, with soft voice: “what do you think, love?”, he sounds unsure: “I don’t know what to think. It is difficult. How about you?”, “I am unsure too”, “maybe we can begin by laying out pros and cons”, Louisa agrees: “good idea, let’s do the cons. The pros are always easy”, he looks at her with loving yet sad eyes: “so the first is that you’d have to re-live that awful experience”, she looks at him with sad eyes too: “yes but it may be worth it, for a positive outcome. Rather, I am worried it’d be very hard on you, love”, his voice is really sad now: “well, yes, the idea of being the one who does it is really, really, difficult to accept. But I will do it if I know the outcome can be positive for you”. They look at each other lovingly. They kiss, Spiros continues: “so the main issue is whether or not the outcome will be positive. What can make it negative? What can increase the chances of it going wrong?”, “I don’t know, really. She mentioned that it works best in very bonded couples”, he smiles sweetly at her: “well, we are. I think that’s why Dr. Mavrodaki and Dr. Petridis think we may be good candidates for this”, she smiles sweetly too: “yes but how does our love make a difference? Maybe it makes it easier for you to become a positive part of my memory?”, “maybe, then the risk would be that instead I become a negative memory”, his voice sounds sad/worried as he finishes that sentence. She looks at him lovingly: “I really can’t see any way I’d form a negative memory towards you. I love you too much”, they kiss softly, Spiros smiles sweetly: “so that may be one way that our love can make a difference. Anything else?”, she sounds worried again now: “well, she said the other risk is that it may break us apart, as a couple”, his eyes are very, very, sweet now: “that’s scary, but highly unlikely. I love you so much, I really can’t see anything change that”, she looks at him with very loving eyes: “it’s the same for me, I love you Spiro, I know I would not resent you for doing it to me. Whether it works or not, I’d always know why you did it”, they kiss tenderly, then she continues: “how about you? The guilt for having done it?”, he sounds sad again: “I know I will hate doing it, but how could that break us apart?”, “it could create a strong tension, but I still can’t see how that would break our love. I would help you overcome the guilt. After all, you’d do it to help me, not to hurt me”. They hug, kiss, and keep holding each other. Then they fall asleep. That night Louisa has several more nightmares, which Spiros stops promptly.

  * The next day they keep talking about their big decision. Larry is working in his room. He gets up for a stretch and looks out of the window. He sees them sitting on the bench in the garden. They look very serious, talking, hugging, and kissing, but not the usual cooing lovebirds. Rather, they look troubled by the decision they are trying to make. 
  * They also practice their new ‘homework’. Spiros keeps going after her with loving and tender ‘surprise’ touches; caresses, gentle hugs, loving kisses. At first, she shivers quite a bit, and he has to be really very gentle and careful, making his identity clear immediately after the contact to prevent any flashbacks. But then, little by little the shivers stop. By the time they see the countess, she is accepting surprise gentle contacts from him easily. As they are having their tea together Spiros makes sure Dr. Mavrodaki witnesses that. He lovingly caresses Louisa’s cheek while she is looking the other way, he puts his arm on her shoulders and gently rubs her back, he gives her little surprise kisses, and he hugs her as she is talking to the countess. The countess smiles: “I see that you have been practicing ‘surprise’ gentle contacts and you seem to be doing very well, Louisa. Was it easy to get to this point?”, “initially I shivered a lot, each time”, Spiros smiles: “but I persisted…”, “and it worked, Spiro, good for you for persisting”, he smiles as he looks at Louisa sweetly: “oh that’s easy, doctor. I’d be happy to do that to her all day-long”, Louisa blushes and kisses his cheek: “you are being silly now, love”, the countess smiles: “well you are doing so well that you can now move on to not-so-gentle ‘surprises’”. Spiros immediately gives Louisa a very unexpected and very thigh hug. She is startled: “ha!”, and has a small shiver, but it actually goes well, she laughs: “you will end up giving me a heart attack, Spiro”. Still holding her in his arms, he looks into her eyes very lovingly: “I risk that each time you look at me and make my heart pound so much”, he kisses her tenderly. She smiles sweetly: “you are being silly again, love”, the doctor smiles: “…and romantic”, Louisa looks at him lovingly and smiles: “yes, very romantic…”. They kiss again. 

  * Louisa becomes serious: “we have been talking about the re-enactment procedure and we’d have a few questions”, “of course, I expected it, go ahead, then”, “well, the first is: what are the chances that my flashback would get worse instead of better?”, “I have implemented this procedure hundreds of times and I have observed a worsening of the symptoms in less than 8% of cases. In about 12% of cases there is little or no improvement and the results are quite positive about 80% of the times. That percent is much higher for couples who are really strongly bonded: above 96%”, Louisa seems unsure: “can that be assessed?”, “the bond?”, “yes, how do we compare to other couples you have treated?”, “very positively, I haven’t seen many bonds as strong as yours. You are definitely in the top 1-2%”. Louisa and Spiros smile at each other lovingly. They both know it very well.
  * Spiros asks: “how can you assess our bond? Is there an objective way?”, “not really, but one can look at objective indicators. I think the most convincing in your case is that Louisa would only respond to your voice during her attacks. Not even her children can do that, and she obviously loves them very much. I think that really shows how strongly bonded to you she is”. Spiros looks at Louisa sweetly. She looks back at him, with a very sweet smile, “then there is your dedication to her Spiro. You are spending 24h/day, 7day/week near her to ensure you can intervene in her flashbacks. If I understand this correctly, you have blocked each and every one of them over the past several weeks”, Louisa smiles sweetly: “yes, he has”, “well, that is an impressive level of dedication. It takes a very strong bond to do that”. He blushes: “it comes easy. I am happy when I am near her”, Louisa smiles and kisses him softly, “then there is your very rapid and impressive progress with desensitization therapy. Even your intimacy has progressed remarkably quickly for a case of sexual assault. Such progress is a clear indication of your bond and motivation”, they both nod, “then there are; your body language when you are together, the conversations we had over the past few weeks over tea, and the more in depth separate conversations I had with the two of you yesterday. Your love is clearly very strong and solid. It is not simply romantic or sexual attraction. It is very mature. Based on reciprocal respect and mutual understanding. The latter are less objective measures but all together these indicators speak for a very strong bond”.
  * Louisa nods: “how does our love make a difference on the outcome of the re-enactment procedure?”, “it makes it more likely that you will add Spiro to your memory as a positive figure. And it makes it more likely that you as a couple will survive the process itself”, “yes, I really can’t see myself resenting Spiro for doing it. I’d know that he wants to help me, not hurt me”, “even if he was to actually physically hurt you in the process?”. Louisa looks scared now: “how bad would that be? Would he have to rape me?”, Spiros looks horrified. He almost screams, as he speaks with very, very, upset voice: “I could never do that! Never! Don’t ask me to! I wouldn’t, I couldn’t!”, she smiles at them both: “no, no, not that bad. It’d be similar to the bruising that Hugh has caused”, Louisa sighs: “then I know I wouldn’t resent him. I’d know the reason. I could never hate him. I love him too much”, Spiros hugs Louisa: “doctor, how frequent is it that strongly bonded couples break up after the procedure?”, “I only had one case”, “and did she still get better?”, “yes, the procedure itself worked. She is fine now. She has no more attacks and she went back to her job”, Louisa nods: “did they break up because she resented him?”, “no, because he could not accept that he had done it. He resented her for letting him do it”, “I could never resent you for that Louisa, if I chose to do it, I would take responsibility. I wouldn’t blame you”.
  * Louisa is clearly thinking deeply: “what if we don’t do it? What would my prospective look like?”, “it is hard to say. The attacks would probably decline eventually. They don’t always, but in your case I think they would because Spiro is interrupting all of the flashbacks. We could also attempt some emotion and narrative exposure therapy which is a much milder version of re-enactment and can be helpful, even though it has slower and lower efficacy”, “what would the timeline be?”, “that is really hard to say. In most cases, it is months or years. It depends on the patient. Because you are not reliving the full memory, you may fall at the low end of the spectrum, but there is no certain way to know”, “and in the meanwhile Spiro would have to always be near me to stop all of the flashbacks”, “yes”. They sit quietly for a while. Thinking. Louisa and Spiros hug.
  * Louisa looks up: “… doctor, I think we should try the re-enactment procedure”. She is looking at Spiros now. And so is the countess: “Spiro, how would you feel about that?”, he responds slowly, with subdued voice: “it seems the best option. The risks seem relatively low in our case and the chances of good outcome seem high”. The countess nods: “I think that is a fair assessment”, “then, yes, we should do it”. He is very serious now. He looks at Louisa, lovingly… and sad…
  * Spiros looks at Dr. Mavrodaki: “what will your role be during the procedure?”, “I will give you specific instructions on what to do and when to talk to Louisa to break the re-enactment. I will also be talking to her directly”, “and where will it happen? Here?”, “not in this room, in one of the bedrooms in a separate wing of the house. It will be a very private area of the house”.
  * Doctor Mavrodaki sits back: “why don’t we do this? We agree on implementing it 5 days from now. You should plan several hours for it. An overnight stay here, if you can. In the meanwhile, we will have our regular daily sessions, and you can ask any additional questions. Also, as you continue thinking about this, feel free to change your mind, if you wish. We can cancel or postpone it if you need more time to think about it. It is important that you are both convinced that you want to do this”. 

  * Now that they have taken a decision, they are actually more relaxed, even though they are both very worried about the implementation of the protocol. They know that it will be very difficult and it will truly test their love. Good thing that they have a big distraction this weekend. On Saturday, Spiros and Louisa are busy in the kitchen for most of the morning. Among other sweets they are making, Louisa prepares her famous scones, “mmmm those smell so good”, Leslie reaches for the baking tray full of scones just out of the oven. Louisa gently hits his hand with a wooden spoon: “keep your hands off those, son, they are for this afternoon’s tea and coffee, “I am happy that you have managed to break through with Spiros’ parents, mother”, “thank you Larry. I am happy too”, “so am I, love, I knew that they’d like you if only they gave you a chance”, he looks at her lovingly: “you are so very lovable”, he hugs and kisses her tenderly and makes a mess of her dress because his hands are full of flour. Leslie laughs: “you will need to change that dress, mother”, she smiles: “I was going to anyway, but please do be more careful Spiro”, he looks at her very sweetly: “sorry love, I just can’t resist you”, he kisses and hugs her again, his hands still full of flour. Her dress is really a white mess now. Larry chuckles: “hopeless…”, they all laugh.
  * In the afternoon, Louisa and Spiros pick up his parents. When they return to the house, the Durrell children approach them as they get off the car and introduce themselves. They all sit in the living room. Louisa and Spiros on one sofa, Spiros’ parents on the other sofa, and the children in armchairs and chairs. At the center, is a coffee table covered in sweets and with a large teapot. Louisa smiles: “ti tha thelate, kafe’ i tsai?”, they all chose tea, Spiros’ father teases: “me tous Anglous prepi na pinoume tsai”, Louisa laughs: “borite na piete kafe’ an to protimate”. Louisa serves the tea, then they all chat for a while.

(trnsl: what would you like, coffee or tea?; with English people we must drink tea; you can drink coffee if you prefer)

  * Louisa’s children all speak fairly good Greek by now, having lived in Corfu for well over 3 years. Louisa is doing a pretty good job too. Gerry seems surprised: “mitera den ixera oti milises ellinika’ toso kala’”, she looks at Spiro sweetly: “giati’ echo ton kalytero daskalo”, he looks back at her with a very sweet smile: “kai ego echo tin kalyteri fititria…”, he puts one arm around her shoulders and with his other hand he gently caresses her cheek: “kai tin pio’ glykia’…”, she smiles lovingly at him. They look into each other’s eyes. They kiss. Leslie teases: “nai, glykia’ san melassa”, Margot, looking at the two of them, smiles: “nai echoume poly’ melassa se afto’ to spiti, opos vlepete”. Meanwhile, Louisa and Spiros are hugging and kissing again. They all smile, Larry looks at Spiros’ parents: “imaste eftychis pou ine poly’ erotevmenoi”, Spiros, still hugging Louisa, smiles: “thank you, Larry!”, Spiros mother agrees: “nai to xeroume. Krima oti den boroune na pantreftoune”, Spiros, still hugging Louisa, claims: “ne, krima, alla i agapi mas ine omorfi akoma kai choris gamo”, Spiros’ father speaks with sterm voice: “omorfi alla amartoli’, o gios mou”, Spiros and Louisa look worried now. They don’t like where the conversation is going. Spiros’ mother intercedes: “den pirasi toso poly’, andra. Koita tous.”, she looks at Spiros and Louisa, “ine poly’ eftychismenoi. Den echo dei pote’ ton gio mas toso eftychismeno me ti Dimitra”, Spiros’ father looks perplexed. Larry tries to ease the tension: “nai, ine poly’ eftychismeoi mazi’, kai afto’ ine simantiko’ sti zoi’”, Margot smiles sweetly: “nai, poly’ simantiko pantou’ sti zoi’’”.

(trnsl: mother, I didn’t know you spoke Greek so well; because I have the best teacher; and I have the best pupil; and the sweetest; yes, as sweet as molasses; yes we have lots of molasses in this house, as you can see; we are happy that they are so in love; yes, we know. Pity they can’t get married; yes, pity, but our love is beautiful even without marriage; beautiful but sinful, my son; it doesn’t matter that much, husband. Look at them; They are very happy. I have never seen our son this happy with Dimitra; yes, they are very happy together, and this is what is important in life; yes, always very important in life)

  * Gerry intervenes: “Theo lei oti ta monogamika zoa ine eftychismena mazi pantou’ sti zoi’, akoma kai choris gamo”, Larry, murmurs to his brother with low voice: “not sure the ‘bestial’ comparison helps here, brother…”, Spiros’ mother replies with stern voice: “ta zoa den ine anthropoi, pedi’ mou. Den echoun Theo’”, Gerry blushes: “to xero, syngnomi, kyria Halikiopoulou”. They all laugh. Spiros pats Gerry’s shoulder and smiles: “mou aresoun poly’ ta monogamika zoa, Gerry. Mitera, Gerry ine zoologos. Milai panta etsi”, Spiros’ mother smiles at Gerry: “zoologos?”, Gerry nods: “nai, san o Theo Stephanides. Ine kalos filos mou”, Spiros’ mother recognizes the name: “o kyrio Stephanides ine kalos anthropos”, “nai, poly’ kalos, kai xeri polla’ pragmata. Matheno polla’ apo’ afton’”, she smiles at him now: “ise kalo’ pedi’, Gerry”, “efcharisto’, kyria Halikiopoulou”, Margot seems relived: “well, thank you brother, it seems that your animal comment has managed to steer the conversation away form that dangerous topic”, Gerry looks at Larry triumphantly: “see?”. Louisa smiles wearily: “yes, let’s not go back there, please”. 

(trnsl: Theo says monogamous animals are happy together for life, even without marriage; animals are not humans, my child. They don’t have God; I know, sorry Mrs. H; I like monogamous animals, Gerry. Mother, Gerry is a zoologist. He always talks like this; zoologist?; yes, like Theo Stephanides. He is a good friend of mine; Mr. S. is a good man; yes, very good and he knows many things. I learn a lot from him; you are a good child, Gerry; thank you Mrs. H)

  * “Mitera, patera, thelete allo scone?”, Spiros’ father reaches for the serving plate: “efcharisto’, mou aresoun poly’ afta’ ta scones”, he picks up a scone and he puts jam on it: “kai afti’ i marmeleda fraoulas ine poly’ kali’”, “efcharisto’, kyrie Halikiopoulos. Tin ekana tin anoixi otan oi fraoules itan poly’ freskes. Kapoios thelei perissotero tsai?”, Spiros’ mother smiles: “nai, efcharisto’, Louisa”, Gerry smiles: “kai ego, mama’”, “entaxi, tha pao na paro perissotero zesto’ nero. Afto’ to nero’ ine poly’ kryo tora’”. She goes to the kitchen then suddenly, her terrified screams begin: “no, no, no, Hugh, stop it, stop, Hugh, stop!”. Spiros runs to her. They hear his voice talk to her very sweetly. She stops screaming. Margot goes to the kitchen and brings freshly made tea back. She serves it: “na’, kyria Halikiopoulou, na’, adelfos”, Spiros’ mother makes a sad smile: “efcharisto’ Margot, pos pai i mitera sou?”, “kalytera, tha erchete se ligo. Ine ligo kourasmeni tora. O Spiros ine mazi tis”, Spiros mother asks: “poses fores tin imera echi aftes tis krisis?”, Larry answers: “icosi-icosi pente ti méra, okto’-deka ti nychta”, she looks surprised: “tosso polles’?”, Larry asnwers with sad voice: “nai, ine poly’ dyscolo gia ti mitera… kai gia olous mas”, Margot smiles: “imaste poly’ charoumenoi pou o Spiros bori na tous stamatisi oles aftes tis krisis”, Leslie nods: “nai, emis den boroume. Mono i foni’ tou Spirou bori’”. Spiros’ parents look sad now.

(trnsl: mother, father, would you like another scone?; thank you, I like those scones very much; and this strawberry jam is very good; thank you Mr. H. I’ve made it in the Spring, when strawberries were very fresh. Did anyone want more tea?; yes, thank you; me too, mom; OK I will go and get more hot water. This water is very cold now; here you go, Mrs. H, here you go, brother; thank you Margot. How is your mother?; better, she will come shortly. She is a bit tired now. Spiro is with her; how many times a day does she have those attacks?; 18-20 during the day, 8-10 at night; that many?; yes, it is very difficult for mother... and for all of us; we are happy that Spiros can stop all of those attacks; yes, we can’t. Only Spiro’s voice can) 

  * After several minutes, Spiros and Louisa return, his arm on her shoulders, her arm on the small of his back. They sit on the sofa smiling. Margot picks up the teapot: “kapoios ali thelei perissotero tsai?”, Louisa hands her teacup: “ligo gia mena”, Spiros smiles: “kai gia mena, efcharisto’, Margot”. They sip their tea and chat for a while, then Spiros’ father looks at this son: “ine arga’, na mas pai spiti, siga’ siga’, gios mou?”, “entaxi, patera”. Spiros and Louisa drive them home. Their first visit to their house has gone well, overall. They are all very relieved. 

(trnsl: anyone wants more tea?; yes a little for me; and for me, thank you; it is late, will you slowly take us home, my son?; OK, father)

  * Over the following days Louisa keeps improving, thanks to Spiros’ dedication to desensitization therapy. By now the interactions between the two of them look completely normal. She is fully relaxed with him and they look beautifully happy together, Dr. Mavrodaki smiles: “Louisa, your progress with behavioral desensitization has been truly remarkable. You now don’t need any further improvements with Spiro. However, you still need to be careful with other men. They are likely still triggers. In this regard, it would be helpful if you had male friends who are willing to do desensitization with you. You will need to do it progressively, the same way you did with Spiro and your sons. With you initiating the contacts first, then them touching you while you are aware of it and only last with unexpected contacts, especially from behind, such as pats on your shoulders”. Spiros nods: “Theo may be willing to do that”, the countess agrees: “good idea and even Dr. Petridis himself”, Louisa continues: “and Christo”. Dr. Mavrodaki smiles: “I have another idea… Dennis!”, he walks in: “yes countess”, “Louisa, can you please get up and touch Dennis’ arm?”. Louisa does it and she immediately has a strong shiver. She holds her hand on Dennis’ arm, looking at him and reminding herself that this is definitely not Hugh. He is the countess’ butler. After a while the shiver stops. Dr. Mavrodaki nods: “that’s what I thought. Other men are still triggers. It’s advisable that you do some desensitization with other men, Louisa”, “I will, thank you, doctor”, “tomorrow we can do a bit more with Dennis”. Dennis looks perplexed but says nothing. Louisa smiles at him: “thank you very much Dennis, I really appreciate your help”. The doctor smiles: “you can leave now, Dennis, thank you”.
  * Doctor Mavrodaki continues: “one more thing, before we call this session over. I think you are now ready to try some gentle initiative also during lovemaking, Spiro”, they both blush as they smile at each other happily. The doctor notices that and smiles, then she continues: “you will need to be really very careful, Spiro and you will need to be very ready to stop immediately if Louisa shows signs of distress”, the doctor is looking at Louisa now: “this is going to be a critical step and it may be very difficult. The experience will be really close to what Hugh did to you”, Louisa looks at Spiros with loving eyes, then she speaks with stern voice: “that’s impossible. Spiro would never be that rough”, the doctor smiles: “I know, I never meant to say that”, Louisa blushes: “sorry doctor, of course you didn’t, I have overreacted…”. He looks at her with a sweet smile: “I am so happy you are so confident of that, Louisa. Of course I’d never be that rough to you, my love”, she looks at him sweetly: “I know…”. The doctor smiles: “well, let me know how that goes when you try it”.

  * That evening the rain has stopped and there is an unusually warm December sunset. Louisa is outside, leaning against the sea wall, staring at the view. She is clearly in deep thoughts. Spiros is sitting on the veranda bench, also thinking. Larry is standing by the house door, observing them. He knows all that thinking is about the new procedure they are still not talking about. He guesses it may be the re-enactment protocol about which he has been reading at the countess’ house. Especially her French books cover it quite extensively. If that is what it is, he understands why they are so serious. That procedure carries great promises but also great risks. It is also very difficult to implement for the two partners and it is quite the test to the solidity of the couple itself. In that moment, Spiros gets up, goes over to Louisa, hugs her from behind and kisses her neck: “I love you so much”. She turns around and returns his hug: “I love you too”. They exchange a long kiss, wrapped in each other’s arms. Larry smiles: “I am impressed with your progress with desensitization, mother. That was so natural! The two of you really are back to the good old lovebird days”. They all smile.

  * Later that evening they are in bed, hugging. She has her head in the crook of his neck, hugging his chest. He is holding her in his arms and they are cooing sweetly, “I love you so much, Louisa, I would never intentionally hurt you, you know that”, she looks up at him, her eyes full of love: “I know…”, “not even during the re-enactment protocol. Whatever that involves, you must know that I’d never hurt you, ever”, “I know it, love, and I know how difficult that will be for you. We can cancel it, if you wish. I’d understand, my love”, she reaches for his lips and kisses him: “I love you”, “and I love you”. They exchange a long love kiss, then they are quiet for a while, hugging tenderly. Spiros speaks softly: “we won’t cancel the procedure unless that is what you want. I’d do anything to make you better”. He caresses her hair then he gently moves his hand down, towards her torso. He reaches her breasts. He touches her. She has a small shiver but it goes away quickly. Then he puts his hand under her pajamas and gently touches her naked breasts. Like before, she has a small shiver, he whispers into her ear: “you are safe with me my love. I’d never hurt you, never”, “I know, love”. He continues touching her breasts until she is completely relaxed letting him doing it. She starts moaning softly, then she reaches inside his pajamas and touches his erection. He moves his hand lower down, towards her sex. She shivers again, more than before. He stops, leaving his warm hand inside her pajamas, laying on her pelvis, as he continues talking to her: “my love, it’s me, Spiro, I love you so much. I’d never hurt you”, she answers with soft voice: “I know, my love, I love you very much too”. She stops shivering. He moves his hand further down. His fingers touch and massage her sex gently, “it’s still me, Louisa, touching you because I love you so much”, she shivers again. He stops, she whispers: “don’t stop, my love”, he continues moving his fingers. He inserts them in her. She has stopped shivering. She is moaning now. He moves his fingers and stimulates her for a while. Then he sits up. She sits on him and they make love. This was another very important step and it went very well. They are happy and fall asleep hugging.
  * The doctor is really happy to learn about the important progress: “this is excellent! And it is so very early for a case of sexual assault. I was hesitant to recommend it yesterday, but I thought of all people the two of you could do it. Your love is so strong”, they look at each other sweetly, smiling, then Louisa answers, blushed: “thank you doctor, I hope this is a good omen for the re-enactment procedure”, Dr. Mavrodaki smiles: “it must be, Louisa, it can’t be anything but a good predictor”. They all smile. Spiros’ smile is very tight, though. The doctor notices it, but she doesn’t say anything. Louisa notices it too. She reaches for his hand: “it will work for me, my love, I know it”, he looks at her sweetly, then speaks with low voice: “I know, and you will be well again, my love”.


	15. Re-enactment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The re-enactment protocol is implemented, not without consequences  
Louisa talks about her sad past  
Happy plans

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Same disclosure as before. I had no time to fully research PTSD so I have just made things up as I went along, for the sake of the storyline, not to give anyone any medical advise/information.  
Instead, the basic information about Louisa Durrell's past should be correct. I have used Michael Haag's book "the Durrells of Corfu" as my source (and a little from David Shimwell's book "Dining with the Durrells")  
The one fact that is not supported by historic information about the family is the love story between Louisa and Spiros. But we do all like that, don't we? We wouldn't be here otherwise... ;-)

  * The day of the re-enactment procedure has arrived. As they leave the house they carry a bag: “today we will attempt a new protocol which lasts much longer than usual. We will likely be away overnight. Do make sure that you have a proper dinner and clean up after it”, Leslie nods: “yes mother”. Larry smiles: “good luck with the new protocol!”. Margot hugs Louisa: “yes, good luck, mom!”.
  * They first have tea together, then Dr. Mavrodaki leads them to a bedroom at the back of the house: “please wait here Louisa. You should make yourself comfortable. For example, you may want to remove your shoes. But you can keep your clothes on. Meanwhile, I will have a word with Spiro”, she and Spiros sit on a sofa outside of the bedroom, “pos pas Spiro?”, “ime etimos”, “how are you feeling?”, “honestly? I am tromaktikos, terrified, but I am prepared to do it for Louisa”, she nods: “I can see that. Well, here is how it works. You walk inside and sit on the bed next to her. I will sit on a chair nearby. We will talk a bit, then I will raise my arm this way. At that point, suddenly and without any warnings, you will grab her upper arms, and roughly throw her on the bed and hold her down with the weight of your body. If she screams and struggles you will push harder and hold her there. You won’t let go or ease off on the pressure”, Spiros nods, he is crying now, she looks at him: “this won’t be easy Spiro, but you know that it is necessary for this protocol”, he nods, still crying, “if you are not ready to go ahead, just say it. Please, be honest. We can suspend for today and we can discuss it more. I am sure Louisa would understand”, “no we should go ahead”, the doctor looks at him. He has stopped crying. He has a determined look in his eyes. “…you will continue holding her down as she struggles. When I sign it, you will use your body weight and an arm across her chest, above her breasts to hold her. Then with your other hand you will reach for her thigh and you will pull her skirt up. You will touch her inner thigh and vulvar region roughly. You don’t need to actually harm her, but you do need to give her a strong and rough touching sensation, to mimic what she experienced when Hugh ripped her clothes off and reached for her intimate parts”. She looks at him. He is crying again, “throughout, you must not talk because your voice may interrupt the re-enactment like it does with her flashbacks. This time we need to time the interruption carefully”, he nods, but he keeps crying, “Spiro, ise sigouros oti thelis na to kanis afto’?”, “nai, ime sigouros, giatro’”, the doctor continues: “when I tell you, you will talk to her the way you usually do to interrupt her flashbacks. She will be very upset at that point. It may take several tries. As soon as she comes back to reality I will also talk to her and I will give you both instructions”, he nods, he has stopped crying. The doctor gives him a clean handkerchief. He wipes his tears and blows his nose. She looks at him: “ise etimos Spiro?”, he nods: “nai, etimos!”. They walk in.

(trnsl: how are you Spiro?; I am ready; tromaktikos = terrified; are you sure you want to do this?; yes, I am sure, doctor; are you ready Spiro?; yes, ready!)

  * Louisa is sitting on the chair next to the bed, “how are you feeling Louisa?”, “scared, but I am ready, doctor”, her look is firm and strong, “very well, then the two of you should sit on the side of the bed, next to each other”, the countess sits on the chair next to them. She takes Louisa’s and Spiros’ hands and brings them together: “now I will go out. I want the two of you to talk. Tell each other how you are feeling and anything you wish. For as long as you need. I will be outside. You can call me when you are done. Take all the time you need”. She goes out. Spiros is looking very, very, serious, Louisa talks to him sweetly: “how are you feeling my love?”, he looks deeply into her eyes: “I am terrified, but I am prepared to do this for you, Louisa. I’d do anything to make you better”, she speaks with sad but very sweet voice: “I love you Spiro. I love you even more because you are prepared to go against yourself for me”, he looks at her lovingly: “how about you? How are you feeling, my love?”, “very scared, but I am also hopeful. I am confident I will respond the right way. I know it because our love is so strong. It has got us this far. It will get us through this too”. She sounds confident but she looks scared. They hug and kiss. He holds her in his arms. He can’t believe he will have to use violence on her shortly. He is crying now. She notices it: “do you want to stop this, love? We can, you know. I’d understand. I won’t be upset”, “no, let’s do this, I know it will help you, I know our love can do it”. They kiss again. She looks at him sweetly: “s’agapo’ poly’, Spiro”, he looks back at her, his eyes full of love: “kai ego, s’agapo’ para poly’, Louisa”, they kiss again, “ise etimos, agapi mou?”, “nai, etimos”. She gets up and calls Dr. Mavrodaki. 

(trnsl: s’agapo’ = I love you; poly’ = very; para poly’ = very much; ise etimos? = are you ready?; agapi mou = my love; nai = yes; etimos = ready)

  * The doctor sits on the chair. She smiles at them: “are you both ready?”, they answer together: “yes”, “is the bed comfortable?”, Louisa nods: “yes”, “you may want to know that this room is very private and that I have given Dennis the day off. We are alone in the house. All that will happen here will remain completely private and confidential”. In that moment, she raises her hand. The sign for Spiros. He grabs Louisa’s upper arms and violently throws her on the bed, on her back. She is startled, then she begins screaming, terrified: “no, no, Hugh, stop it, no, no”. The flashback has begun. The doctor looks at Spiros. He is crying. Big tears are dropping down onto the bed, “continue as instructed”, he keeps pushing her down. Louisa is really struggling now. He leans on her with his whole body and keeps pushing on her upper arms. He has to use lots of strength now. She is really screaming, “no, no, stop it, stop it, Hugh, help, help!!!”, Spiros keeps holding her down, crying really hard. He is watching the doctor through his tears, waiting for instructions. The countess looks very serious. She is following Louisa’s every move. She allows the memory to run for a while.
  * Then she raises her arm again. The second sign for Spiros. He places his forearm across Louisa’s chest and reaches down with his other arm. He pulls her skirt up and touches her thigh strongly, roughly moving his hand towards her inner thigh and her vulva. Louisa keeps struggling and screams really loudly now, with truly terrified voice: “no, no, stop it, stop it, Hugh, stop, stop, help, help, help me!! Spiros is sobbing now. He is really struggling not to make any sounds that would make his voice identifiable. The doctor is looking at him. He looks at her. She seems very affected herself. She is crying too. Now he knows why she had to quit her job and retire to Corfu. Now he knows why it was taking a toll on her. This is horrible. He keeps crying hard. His body shaking with silent sobs. The doctor keeps looking at Louisa, who is struggling and screaming with terrified voice.
  * “Talk to her now, Spiro. Stop her flashback. And as you feel that she stops struggling, you can ease the pressure off her”, still crying, he speaks sweetly near her ear: “Louisa, my love, it’s me, Spiro, can you hear my voice?”, she keeps screaming: “stop it, Hugh, stop, it, no, no, no!!”, he continues very sweetly: “my love it’s me, Spiro, can you hear me? Listen to my voice, my love”. She stops screaming, she is listening now, “my love, it’s me, Spiro, open your eyes, look at me”, she opens her eyes. Dr. Mavrodaki intervenes: “Louisa, who are you seeing? Who is this?”, she answers with very faint voice: “Spiro”, “and who is Spiro?”, “he is my love”, “then why are you fighting him?”. As Spiros eases the pressure of his weigh off her and releases her from his grab, Louisa looks surprised, “don’t fight him, Louisa, he is the man you love, isn’t him?”, she speaks faintly but sweetly: “yes”, “tell me what you are feeling for him in this moment, Louisa”, she looks up at him sweetly: “I love him”, “then stop fighting him, hug him, instead”, Louisa’s eyes are completely open now. She looks at Spiros who is smiling sweetly at her, through his tears. Louisa reaches with her arms around his torso and hugs him. He hugs her lovingly: “I love you Louisa”, “I love you Spiro”, “if you love him, then why don’t you kiss him?”. Spiros is still on top of her. Louisa is completely relaxed in his arms now. She is not fighting anymore. They kiss, softly, then they kiss again and again. “Very good, with more passion now”. They begin with much more sexual kisses, “Spiro, touch her body the way you know she likes”. He begins touching her breasts and her inner thighs. She allows it. She does not fight it. She seems to like it. That’s a very good sign. The countess gets up: “it’s time for me to leave. The rest of the session is for the two of you to implement. I’d advise that you now make love in the man-on-top position. Spiro, do take the initiative you used to take. In case she reacts negatively, you will need to stop, but it doesn’t look like it, right now. I’d advise that the two of you spend the night here and make love as many times as you feel like it, in your usual old ways, with initiative coming from both of you. Breakfast will be ready when you get up”. She leaves.
  * Spiros continues touching Louisa’s body. She is not fighting back. She is moaning now. While kissing and touching her, he removes her clothes. She takes his clothes off. He begins stimulating her with his fingers. She moans and reaches for his penis. They keep touching each other, until he approaches her for penetration. She opens her legs, waiting. Not a sign of fear or shivers. They make love with him on top. Very naturally, as if her PTS was gone. Afterwards, they lay on the bed, hugging. She lays with her head in the crook of his neck, hugging his chest. He holds her in his arms. Spiros kisses her hair and speaks very lovingly: “how are you feeling my love?”, she aswers with sweet voice: “exhausted but happy. How about you?”, he sounds tired: “I am happy too. But also really exhausted. I feel like I have been run over by my car. Many times.”, “I thought this protocol was going to help with my flashbacks. I did not realize it’d also have implications for our lovemaking”, he kisses her hair softly: “neither did I”, she is hugging him tightly: “well, I am so happy right now”, he smiles sweetly: “me too”, “and tired”, “me too”, she looks up at him, then whispers sweetly: “I love you”, he looks at her with loving eyes: “I love you”. They fall asleep, naked, hugging each other.

  * They wake up several hours later, still hugging. Spiros smiles lovingly: “good morning my love, she sounds sleepy: “morning? What time is it?”, he answers with very sweet voice: “5AM and you have slept through the night without screams”, she sounds surprised: “oh my God, that is true”, “it’s the first time since the assault. Did you not have any nightmares?”, “I can’t remember exactly. I think I did, but they were different. Yes…”, she is remembering something now, “…you are in them now. You stopped Hugh when he first moved up to me. Then you hugged me”, he sounds very happy: “so it worked…”, she sounds happy too: “it seems it did!”, he hugs her tightly: “I am so happy my love, this is such wonderful news”, she looks at him lovingly: “thank you for going through the protocol with me, love, I know it was difficult”, he answers softly: “yes, very”, he is very sad now. She looks at him sweetly: “I know, you were crying hard when I came back”, his voice is sad now: “I was. I felt horrible doing those things to you, my love. How was it for you?”, she answers with sad voice too: “awful, I re-lived the whole assault again, but in the end you were there with me and that gave me such a sense of liberation… For the first time I felt I could leave the trauma behind and be with you like before”. They kiss, and kiss, until their kisses become more passionate. He begins touching her, stimulating her, making love to her. And she is completely relaxed in his arms, the way she was before. They come together again, like many times before, but this time it feels so special. Afterwards, Spiros whispers with very sweet voice: “so perfect my love”, she looks at him, her eyes full of love: “yes perfect, like our first time all over again. I love you so much Spiro”, he speaks very sweetly: “I love you too, Louisa. Very much”. They lay hugging for a while. Then they make love again. Finally, they get up and go to the bathroom next door. They wash each other, very happy, yet very tired and thoughtful-looking. The outcome seems very good, but it was not easy, for either of them. And there are those bruised arms she has that Spiros cannot look at…

  * They go to the dining room at the front of the house. Dr. Mavrodaki is sitting in an armchair: “kalimera sas”, Louisa smiles: “kalimera giatre’”, Spiros repeats: “bonjourn, docteur”. Dr. Mavrodaki smiles: “Dennis!”, “yes countess”, “can you please serve breakfast?”, “momentarily, madam”. The doctor gets up and sits at the table. Louisa and Spiros join her, sitting next to each other, across from her. Dennis serves eggs, bacon, potatoes, and sausages, then he leaves the room and closes the door behind himself. “bon appetit!”, “kali’ orexi!”. They begin eating. 

(trnsl: good morning to you; good morning doctor, in Greek and French, kali’ orexi = bon appetit)

  * Doctor Mavrodaki inquires: “so how was your night?”, they answer together: “very good”, “how so?”. Louisa blushes. Spiros speaks, also blushed: “after you left we made love our usual way, as if her PTS was gone. It was completely natural. Then we slept. We were both very tired. When we woke up we realized that Louisa had not screamed all night”, the doctor looks at Louisa: “are your nightmares different now?”, “yes, Spiros is in them. He stops and punches Hugh at the very beginning. Then he hugs me and I continue sleeping”, the doctor smiles: “excellent, that is exactly what I was hoping. How about daytime flashbacks, have you experienced any yet?”, “I am not sure. While we were washing, I thought one was beginning but it didn’t. I only saw Spiro smiling at me”, he looks at her lovingly: “well, I was right there, washing you, love”, she smiles looking at him sweetly: “I know. I meant in my mind”. The doctor smiles: “that is excellent, Louisa. It is still too soon to tell whether or not this is going to be your pattern, but at this point it seems that the re-enactment protocol has worked very well for you. It seems that Spiro was added to your memory at a very early stage. Early enough that he can stop it at its very onset. As I said, it’s too early for celebrations, but it is looking very promising”. Spiros and Louisa look at each other. They smile very happily, “please continue eating. You don’t want your breakfast to get cold”. They all eat.
  * Louisa, very blushed looking down, but with firm voice, asks: “doctor… I thought the re-enactment protocol was going to help with my flashbacks. I did not realize it’d also help our intimacy”, “did you do it that one time or more than once?”, Louisa answers, even more blushed: “…two more times this morning, with the same ease”, “excellent, re-enactment doesn’t always help with intimacy. That’s why I had not told you about that possibility. But I did hope it would do that for you. I am very happy it did”. Louisa and Spiros smile at each other. They are obviously happy too.
  * Spiros asks: “doctor, you said that it is too soon to know whether or not the protocol has worked for Louisa’s flashbacks. When will we know?”, “we need to let a few days go by and monitor the untriggered nighttime and daytime flashbacks. Hopefully they will be greatly reduced or even eliminated, but we can’t know for certain at this point”, Louisa nods: “that makes sense”. In that moment, Louisa has a very brief absence. It’s only an instant, but the doctor notices it: “was it a flashback?”, “yes, it was Spiro’s face again. Smiling. The same smile he had when I came back after the re-enactment. A very sweet and sad smile, through his tears”. Dr. Mavrodaki smiles: “it seems that re-enactment really did work for you Louisa, let’s hope the same happens to each one of your flashbacks today. We should have our usual session this evening, so that you can update me”.

  * Spiros is looking at Louisa lovingly, smiling… a sad smile. Dr. Mavrodaki turns to him: “Spiro, do you feel like telling us how you are feeling?”, “I am extremely happy with Louisa’s progress. I couldn’t be happier”, the doctor smiles: “but…”, “but… I feel very, very, drained. I keep thinking about the protocol. I can’t believe I could go through with it”. Louisa looks at him with sweet eyes: “even if it worked?”, he looks at her with very sad eyes: “I still can’t understand how I could use violence on you, my love. Look at you, your arms are covered in bruises, and I did it! Not that bastard son-of-a-bitch. This time it was me… me who did that to you… me!”. He is crying now, she puts her arm around his waist and hugs him, caressing his face, wiping his tears with her hand. Then she talks to him with very sweet voice: “my love, you know it was necessary. You know it was part of the protocol. It wasn’t real violence. You meant to help me get better”, he answers with low broken voice: “I know, but I still can’t believe that I found it in me to be violent to you. I did not know there would exist any circumstances that I’d be able to use violence on you, not even for a good purpose”, Louisa is still hugging him. She caresses his hair and talks to him sweetly: “but you did it to help me. I love you for that”, “I love you too, that’s why I can’t believe I could hurt you”. He is crying in her arms. His head in the crook of her neck. She keeps hugging and caressing him.
  * The doctor is watching them: “Spiro, while the act itself was violent you did it out of love. You have gone against your own inner self and principles to help the woman you love. You cried the whole time. At some point, you were sobbing so hard that I was worried your voice would interrupt the protocol too soon. It was love that made you do it, not violence”, as he answers, his voice is broken by sobs: “I know, I keep telling that to myself, but then I remember Hugh’s words. He proposed to her and told her he loved her. And that was just before he assaulted her. So how am I different then?”. He is crying hard now…
  * Louisa looks shocked. She did not think he’d ever compare himself to Hugh and the violence he used on her, she speaks with loving but stern voice now: “Spiro, what you did to me was completely out of love. Instead, there was no love in what Hugh did, regardless of what he said ahead of it. There was no love when he said ‘now I am going to forage where that Greek has’. There was no love in the way he pushed me against his car. There was no love when, after I cried for help, he slapped me on my face and said ‘shut up whore’. There was no love when he said ‘let’s see how you like this now’ as he was going to rape me. And he would have if you didn’t stop him”, she is crying now, but she continues: “he is a bastard son-of-a-bitch who can’t take no for an answer. He is just a typical arsehole man who wanted to dominate and control me. You have never, not once, had that kind of attitude. You are always the most loving and respectful man I could hope for. From the way you approach me to make love, to how we decide what to have for breakfast. Spiro, my love, please, don’t you _ever_ think there is anything in common between you and Hugh”. She is crying hard…
  * The doctor has allowed their dialogue so far. Now she intervenes: “Spiro, you can think of yourself as the practitioner who needs to be harsh on his patient in order for her to get better. Re-enactment is like administering a very, very, bitter medicine. You do it because you know it will help the patient”, she is getting upset herself now, “I have done it hundreds of times. I hated it each time. The only reason for I kept doing it for years was the outcome, in those 80% of cases where it helped”, she is crying now: “…until I couldn’t take it anymore, until my husband took me away from it all”, she is quiet now. They all are. The countess is looking down: “I am so sorry I should not allow my own feelings into our sessions. This was very unprofessional”, Louisa smiles at her sweetly: “now that I know how hard it is on you, I am even more grateful that you would have agreed to take me on as your patient. Thank you for doing it for me. I truly appreciate it”. Louisa gets up and hugs her: “countess, I think of you as may doctor and my friend”, the countess hugs her too: “yes, your friend first, then your doctor. It’s the only reason for I have agreed to this when your other friend, Dr. Petridis, asked me. You two are special persons and your love is beautiful. You remind me of my husband and me. I wanted the two of you to have back what I no longer have”. Spiros, sounds very moved: “and we will always be grateful for your help, Dr. Mavrodaki. It seems that we all need some rest and distraction now. We should go home, Louisa, and let the doctor rest”, she smiles at them: “yes, I will see the two of you this evening”, “goodbye”, “goodbye…”

  * Spiros and Louisa return home. Larry is sitting at the table on the veranda. with his typewriter, enjoying this unusually warm early December: “oh hello there, good to see you back. Everyone else is already off”, Louisa smiles: “good, thanks Larry”. They sit at the table with Larry. Both are very quiet. Larry inquires: “so have you done it? Have you gone ahead with the re-enactment procedure?”. Louisa and Spiros look surprised: “so you’ve guessed it…”, “yes mother, it was not in the books Dr. Petridis gave us, but I read about it at the countess’ library. Her French books describe it in great detail. I even got some of the original articles on it. I imagined you were considering it because the two of you were so thoughtful-looking and serious. It is not an easy protocol”, Spiros is looking at Louisa: “very difficult”, “so did you do it last night?”, Louisa nods: “yesterday evening, then we spent the night at the doctor’s”, “how are you feeling now?”, she sounds tired: “very drained. It was very difficult”, “when will you know whether it worked?”, she smiles: “well, I never screamed because of nightmares last night”, Larry makes a happy smile: “wow, that’s the first time since the assault! Does it mean you did not have any?”, “I did, but they ended very quickly and very positively”, Larry looks puzzled now: “positively?”, she looks at Spiros with loving eyes: “yes, Spiro is now part of the memory. He stops Hugh and hugs me very early in the flashback. That prevents the memory from running”, Larry smiles happily: “that is wonderful, mother”, she smiles too: “it is and so far, the same has happened with my waketime flashbacks. I had two this morning and they both stopped very quickly without developing into panic attacks”, “that is truly impressive. I am so happy re-enactment has worked so well for you mother”, she smiles, a tired but happy smile: “the doctor says it is too soon to know for sure, but it is looking promising so far”. 
  * In that moment, Larry notices that Louisa’s arms are covered in bruises. He suddenly becomes very serious. He looks at Spiros sternly and speaks with accusatory tone: “why is mother hurt again? Who did that to her?”, Spiros is crying now, big tears are rolling down his cheeks: “it was me, Larry, me… me…”, he is looking at her, sobbing. Louisa hugs him: “it is part of the protocol. Spiro had to do the re-enactment. It was very difficult for him”, she is holding him in her arms and speaks softly: “don’t cry love, you know it was necessary”, “sorry for my harsh tone, Spiro, I understand now”, “thank you Larry…” he keeps crying… then with broken voice he lets it all out: “I had to trigger that horrible flashback, then I had to hold her down while she was struggling and screaming. I had to push very hard because she was fighting back so badly. The more she struggled the harder I had to hold her down. And then I had to touch her the way Hugh had. So roughly, so not like I’d ever touch her. She was screaming and struggling so desperately! And I had to keep pushing her down. I couldn’t let go. I couldn’t talk to her to stop the flashback. I so wanted to, but I couldn’t… I couldn’t!”, he is sobbing badly now. Larry whispers: “holy cow, Spiro…”, she is hugging Spiros, as he cries in her arms, “I hate what I did. I cannot believe I was capable of using violence on my one true love. What does it say about me? I hate myself for that!”, he keeps crying, she talks to him very sweetly: “my love, don’t be so hard on yourself. You know it had to be done. I love you for doing it”, “Spiro, what you think of as violence, to me is a beautiful example of your true love for mother. You have acted against your own feelings, your deepest inner self, so that she could get better. I cannot think of a stronger act of love. I am grateful you have done it”, he answers with broken voice: “thank you Larry, I am glad you are so understanding, but I still can’t accept I could do it…”, he keeps crying in her loving embrace, leaning in the crook of her neck. She hugs him and kisses and caresses his hair very lovingly.

  * This is the post- re-enactment guilt the countess had warned them about. Louisa talks to him with sweet soft voice: “why don’t we go for a walk, love?”. She smiles at him sweetly, wipes his tears with her handkerchief, helps him up, hugs and kisses him softly, then she gently steers him towards the path behind the house. After all of those weeks that he was her rock, her one big support, he now needs her support. As they walk she talks to him, they hug, they kiss, they talk, they hug, they kiss... They reach their rock in the woods. They sit on it and they continue talking, hugging, kissing... he slowly calms down. She manages to make him smile. Their love is as strong as ever. Together they will overcome even this. They sit there for a while, until he looks calmer. Then they walk back to the house. Larry is still on the veranda, watching them approach, looking serious.
  * “Larry, you should keep the details of the re-enactment protocol from your brothers and sister. It is too difficult to grasp. They are too young. I plan to just tell them that the different protocol we have tried seems to have helped”, he nods: “of course mother, I agree with you, I won’t say anything”.

  * Larry leans back on his chair: “there is something else”, he puts a few articles in French on the table: “to learn more about the re-enactment protocol I requested copies of the original articles from the Bibliothèque Nationale de France. The first author is Dr. Mavrodaki. The countess is your mystery psychiatrist, isn’t she?”, Louisa looks worried now: “please hide those articles and don’t tell anyone. She really does not want people to know. It is important that we respect her desire. We are grateful that she agreed to take me as a patient when Dr. Petridis asked her. I am her first patient since her retirement many years ago”, he smiles: “of course I won’t say anything, mother, I am glad she did”.
  * Larry looks at his watch: “mother, Margot, Gerry, and Leslie will be back home soon. May I advise that you wear a long-sleeve shirt? They shouldn’t see those bruises”, “yes, good point, thank you Larry”. She goes upstairs. Spiros is sitting at the veranda table, still looking quite serious. They sit quietly for a while, then he talks with sad voice: “Larry… thank you for your understanding. It means a lot to me…”, “thank _you_, Spiro. I am so grateful you have done this. The results seem really promising. Now I feel that mother’s and all of our lives can go back to normal. I understand why you feel so badly about implementing that protocol, but, please, try to think of it for what it was: a huge act of love. The greatest you could ever do for mother”. Louisa arrives and hears his last sentence. She hugs Spiros from behind. He turns. She smiles sweetly. They kiss lovingly. 

  * That evening Louisa and Spiros return to the countess’ house for their post procedure session. They are sitting in the living room for their usual tea. “How was your day, Louisa?”, she smiles: “so far things are looking really good. I haven’t had any attacks all day. I only had very brief flashbacks with Spiro’s smiling/sad face”, “this is excellent news, Louisa. Did you keep track of the number?”, Spiros steps in: “I did, they were 22, so in line with the previous attacks, except that now they are so subtle that I am not always sure it is happening, until Louisa confirms it”, she smiles: “thank you Spiro, very accurate, as always. You obviously keep a close eye on Louisa”, he looks at Louisa lovingly: “of course, watching her is what I love to do anyway!”, she smiles at him sweetly: “you are being silly, my romantic”. They kiss. They are all very relieved. The outcome seems really good.
  * “I am sorry to add a less positive note now, but I need to remind you that this is not a cure. You still have PTS, Louisa, except that it is much more manageable now. Triggered panic attacks are still very possible. You need to continue the desensitization protocol with men. In the meanwhile, you will need to continue to be careful to avoid being touched by men. Hence, I advise that you don’t go to crowded places without Spiro”, she sips a bit of tea, then: “Denni!”, he enters the room: “yes countess”, “Louisa can you please get up and touch Dennis’ arm like you did the other day?”. She does it and she has a shiver, but smaller than before. Louisa holds the position until the shiver stops, “very good, now, move your hand to Dennis’ other arm”, this time Louisa has no reactions, “very good, you should touch his shoulder now”, Louisa has a shiver but it does not last too long “very good, we can stop here for today. Tomorrow we can do more desensitization with Dennis”, Louisa smiles: “thank you very much Dennis, I really appreciate your help”, he smiles: “no problem, Mrs. Durrell. The doctor has explained. I am happy to help”, “thank you Dennis, you can leave now, please”.

  * “Spiro, let’s talk about you now, shall we?”, his face turns very serious: “all right”, “how are you feeling?”, he looks sad now: “a strong sense of guilt and deep sadness. I still find it difficult to accept that I have implemented the protocol”, Louisa holds him close with her arm on his back as he talks with trembling sad voice: “I still can’t believe that I have found it in me to use violence on Louisa. I can rationally understand that it was necessary and the intent was not violent, but I find it hard to accept, emotionally. I feel very down”, he looks really sad now, on the verge of tears, “have the two of you talked about it?”, “yes, Louisa is being very supportive. She got me out of this very sad state several times today”, Louisa sits quietly, looking and smiling at him sweetly. Spiros continues: “Larry is being very supportive too. He has guessed that we did the re-enactment protocol and understands it very well because he has read about it in your books, doctor, especially the French books”.
  * The doctor continues: “the support you are receiving is very good and important, Spiro. I know that you rationally understand why you had to do it. Now you need to work on the emotional aspect. When you feel really down, remind yourself of the ultimate goal”, he nods, looking sad, “earlier you said that you love to look at Louisa”, he smiles sweetly: “yes, and I meant it”, “then do it. Look at her. Do it now, Spiro”, he looks at Louisa, she smiles back at him sweetly, “can you see it? I can see it very well. She is so much more relaxed today”, he nods: “yes, she is”, “she is doing so much better. Isn’t that beautiful?”, he smiles: “it is!”, the doctor continues: “you played an essential role in getting her there. You did it for her, so that she could be like this”, he nods, smiling, “tell us again, why did you do it?”, he looks at Louisa with the sweetest smile: “because I love her”, “your very strong love has brought Louisa to this point. It can get you out of this sadness too. Use it as your anchor now. It is a marvelous thing you two have”, he looks at Louisa lovingly and smiles: “yes, we are very lucky”, “see? You are doing it. Turning those low moods into positive emotions. You can _actively_ do it”, he nods: “I see what you mean, doctor, I will try”. Louisa hugs him, then speaks sweetly: “and I will help you, love. You’ve helped me so much in the past several weeks. It is my turn now. We will get through this, together”. They kiss. 
  * The countess sits back in her armchair: “Very well, one other topic I wanted to briefly touch upon is your intimacy. Just to say that since it seems that is normalized I won’t ask you about it again”, she smiles: “it’s none of my business, really. But you should feel free to bring up any issues that may arise. Even if they seem minor. It is always easier to catch problems early”, Louisa blushes: “thank you doctor, we appreciate your help with that too”, “is there anything else you would like to discuss? Any questions?”, Louisa nods: “yes, actually: if I stop having the untriggered flashbacks can we resume a normal life? Can Spiro go back to work and can we have his children visit again? That would be so nice”, “yes, I’d just wait a few days, though, to make sure that all of your flashbacks keep being interrupted early”. 
  * Spiros steps in: “there is something else, doctor. You may remember that the trial for Louisa’s assault is scheduled for next Wednesday”, he looks at Louisa lovingly: “I am concerned it will be very hard on Louisa. Is there any way you could help us prepare for it?”, the countess nods: “yes, we can talk about it in the next few days. We should still have daily sessions until then”, Spiros looks relieved: “thank you so much doctor”.

  * Louisa smiles sweetly: “one more thing, doctor. It may be unconventional for the patient to ask, but… how are you doing, my friend?”, she smiles: “much better, thank you. Seeing you doing so well is the best reward for me, as your friend and your psychiatrist”, “you seemed very affected by the procedure this morning”, she looks serious: “yes, it is difficult to implement and I hadn’t done it in a long time”, Spiros looks at her with a sad smile: “you were crying during the procedure. That is why you quit your job, isn’t it?”, “yes, I came to a point that I could not take it anymore. I was very depressed. I could no longer recover my mood from one patient to the next”, Louisa makes a sad smile: “then your husband brought you here”, “yes, he was from Corfu’. This house was his family home”, “his love helped you…”, “very much... here with him I found my serenity again… we were very happy… until he died. Then everything became awfully difficult again”, she looks very sad now, Louisa replies with very sad voice: “I know, I have lost my husband of 18 years too…”, the two women look at each other. They feel a very deep connection right now, “it was horrible. If it wasn’t for my children I would have killed myself on that day”. Spiros looks at her sadly and hugs her. Louisa continues: “it took me 8 years before I was ready for love again and two more before it became reality”, the countess makes a sweet smile: “but you have found it now”, Louisa looks at Spiros lovingly and nods: “yes, and it is beautiful”, “seeing the two of you so happy together brings me joy too. It is as if my mourning can find closure through you”. Louisa gets up and hugs the countess. She hugs her back, “I wish I could share some of my happiness with you”. Spiros gets up and hugs them both: “me too”. A bit clumsy, maybe, but very sweet.

  * When Spiros and Louisa leave the countess, he drives to the beautiful lookout over the cliff and stops the car, “why did you drive here, love?”, he looks at her with smiling loving eyes: “I wanted to take advantage of you”, he gently pulls her into his arms and kisses her, she happily returns his kiss and smiles sweetly: “you don’t need to take me here for that, love”. They kiss again, then he has her get off the car and sit on his Jacket, on the log near the edge of the cliff, he smiles at her sweetly: “I wanted us to talk privately”, she looks surprised: “about what?”, “about your husband’s death. You don’t talk about it a lot, but it has obviously affected you very much. I think I should know more about that part of your life”, “does it bother you? Are you jealous? I can’t change my past, you know”, he looks at her tenderly: “I am not jealous, love. I know that is behind you. I just think that, as your current partner who cares so much about you, I should learn about a part of your past that has impacted you so much”. He has his arm around the small of her back.
  * He kisses her softly: “earlier you said you wanted to kill yourself…”, she talks with low and sad but firm voice: “yes, on the day of the funeral I wanted to jump in the grave with him… I kept looking at my children, who were still so young, to remind myself that I had 4 very important reasons to live. Then, I took to drinking. I was such a wreck…”, Spiros puts his arm on her shoulders and lovingly pulls her to him, she continues talking, her head leaning on his shoulder: “Lawrence’s relatives and my family and friends advised that I should move to England with the children, to make a fresh start. So I did. We moved that same year, just a few weeks after we had buried Lawrence. We lived in London for almost 4 years, then in Bournemouth for another 3 years, but I couldn’t really escape the sadness. I spent whole days on the sofa, doing nothing but cry. I kept drinking, hiding it from my children. And they were unhappy too. None of them ever truly adapted to living in England. Leslie, Margot, and Gerry hated the school system there and Larry had to take a real estate agent job to help support the family, because my widow pension was not sufficient and I was not capable of holding a job. He did it, but he hated it because he had no time to pursue his dream of being a writer”, she pauses a bit then she continues with sad voice: “my family was falling apart and I was causing it. Aunt Hermione could see that and she really tried to help, her own way. She kept coming by, quite often, helping with the children, doing homework with them, taking them shopping, cooking dinner, even doing housecleaning, all the while criticizing everything I was doing, and pointing out all of our problems. She was right and well-intentioned, of course, but that just made me feel even more useless and helpless”.
  * Spiros has his arm around her shoulders and hugs her. She lifts her head and continues. Her gaze towards the horizon. She seems to be talking to herself now, still with sad voice: “at the worst of it all, I had a nervous breakdown. I had to be hospitalized for a period, while Gerry, who was still very young, stayed with a housemaid. I decided to return to India. I thought if I could not fight my depression, at least in India I could dwell into my sadness in the places where I had many happy memories with Lawrence. And my children could go back to their previous life. If I couldn’t, at least they could be happy again. I had already bought tickets for me and Gerry. We were going to sail from Liverpool that Autumn”. Spiros is looking at her with very sad eyes. He did not know these details. He keeps hugging her. “Returning to India would have made no sense at all. At that point, it was several years later. My children’s life did not belong there anymore. And my past could never return. I am convinced that had I returned to India I would have ended up killing myself. Luckily, Larry found the tickets and stopped me. He also confronted me about my drinking. For a while I really tried to get better. I reduced my drinking and focused on raising Gerry while Leslie and Margot were in boarding school and Larry had moved in with Nancy. However, 1.5 yr later I wasn’t any better. I had started drinking heavily again and my children were not doing well either. Gerry was being bullied in school because of his love for nature. Leslie and Margot had dropped out of school and started hanging out with strange people. At that point, Larry faced me again and convinced me to move to Corfu. Him and Nancy had been here before. He thought this could be the place for us all to find a new chance on happiness”.
  * She smiles at him sweetly, now. He smiles back at her, very sweetly too. “After we got here in March 1935 my children quickly adapted to the new environment and flourished. They found love, friends, adventure… a life again. As for me, I slowly reduced, then stopped, my drinking and I found myself again on this beautiful island, with its warm people. You probably did not realize it, Spiro, but you and your friendship were a really important part of that recovery”, he pulls her closer, with his arm on her shoulders, she smiles at him sweetly and continues: “even before I fell in love with you I somehow knew it was going to happen at some point. As soon as I’d be able to let go of Lawrence”, he looks at her very sweetly: “so when did you… let go of him?”, she smiles at him sweetly: “It was a gradual process but I knew I had completed it after that bogus séance with Mrs. Haddock. I realized then that I was ready to move on”, “then Sven came around…”, she smiles: “I told you, that was not true love. But that brief story served the purpose of pushing me forward, towards you”, he smiles at her: “well, I am happy he is a homosexual. You would have married him otherwise”, she smiles: “me too. It would have been a mistake. I still love him as a very special friend and I know that he still loves me that way, and that’s how it should have been all along”.
  * He looks into her eyes, smiling sweetly: “what do you feel for Lawrence now?”, “I have no feelings for him now, other than the warmth that comes when we think about past joys. I loved him very much, but I have put that in the past”, she looks at him very sweetly now: “now I love _you_, Spiro. And I am sure if Lawrence could see us he’d be happy for me”, he smiles at her lovingly: “well, I am glad I have you now”, “does it bother you that I was happily married before?”, he answers still smiling at her sweetly: “I am happy for you that you had a happy marriage, but I am also selfishly happy that that was a long time ago and you can be mine now”, she looks at him sweetly: “I _am_ yours, Spiro. Completely. I really love you”, “I love you too, Louisa”. They kiss. A long love kiss.

  * She quietly stares at the horizon for a while, then she looks at him: “Spiro… since we are talking about important aspects of my past, there is one more thing I wish you to know. Something I have not talked about for years”, she looks very serious now, he smiles at her sweetly: “what is it, Louisa?”, she continues with very sad voice: “Lawrence and I had 5 children. Our second, Margery Ruth, died of diphtheria when she was just 4 month old”, he makes a very sad face: “that is terrible, love, I am so sorry!”, he wraps his arms around her and hugs her, “yes it was awful. I was very depressed after that. I took to drinking even then. It’s only with Lawrence’s support that I managed to find my balance and look after my other child, Larry, who was still just a toddler. Later, after we had 3 more children I was just about starting to feel normal again when Lawrence took ill and died shortly afterwards”. He hugs her tightly: “my love your past has so much sadness. I will make sure your present and your future are happy”, she smiles sweetly: “_I am_ happy again, with you…”, he looks at her with very loving expression: “I love you so much, Louisa”, she looks at him with very loving eyes too: “I love you very much too, Spiro”. They hug and kiss, against the backdrop of the beautiful Corfu landscape, surrounded by the soft amber light of this warm December evening, the sun slowly setting behind the mountains.

  * Tuesday, after lunch. Louisa is washing dishes in the kitchen. Spiros approaches his and her children who are still sitting around the table of the veranda. He picks up Katherini and sits down with her in his lap: “koukla mou, I have a secret I want to tell you and the rest of you, but you must promise you will not tell Louisa”, he looks around the table, Margot looks curious: “what is it, Spiro?”, he pulls out the jeweler’s box with the engagement ring: “a while back Dimitra and I have applied for divorce. Now I have reason to think it will be finalized soon. I want to propose to your mother right after that”, Margot smiles sweetly: “that is so nice, Spiro. I am sure mom will be very happy”, Leslie nods: “of course she will”, Gerry smiles: “for sure. She loves you very much”, Larry nods: “indeed”, Mihalis smiles too: “yes, she does!”, Katherini is very enthusiastic: “yes!! And will there be a party?”, “yes koukla, but knowing Louisa, before agreeing to marry me, she will want to check with all of you. So, I thought I’d anticipate her. What do you think, when I propose to her should she say yes?”, “yes bampaka, and we should have a big, big, party”, Mihalis smiles: “yes, bampa’, I hope she will agree to marry you. She is very nice”, Larry smiles: “you know it, Spiro, the four of us will be very happy if she says yes. You are part of our family”, Margot, Leslie, and Gerry nod, smiling, “thank you all, then would you put it into writing on this paper?”. They all do, write on the paper. Spiros dates it and puts it in an envelope. Then he hides the envelope and the jeweler’s box with the ring in his Jacket’s pocket. Just in time. Louisa walks out of the house and joins them. She sits next to Spiros who is still holding Katherini in his lap. Louisa and Spiros kiss. Katherini smiles but says nothing. She keeps her bampaka’s secret…

(trnsl: koukla = doll; mou = my; bampaka = daddy; bampa’ = dad)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the record: Larry and Nancy were married and had already moved to Corfu when Louisa and her 3 other children moved there too. Later, they even had a daughter Penelope. For some reason, Gerald Durrell never mentioned that and in his books he implied that Larry was living with the rest of the family (he wasn't. Him and Nancy lived in a separate house. The white house, which today is a restaurant). I find that Simon Nye, the writer of the TV series, has balanced historic facts with Gerald Durrell's books quite brilliantly, introducing Nancy early in series 1, as Larry's girlfriend, and having them split up later (which they did also in reality. They divorced after the end of World War 2).
> 
> Another piece of info that I have altered somehow is that Louisa Durrell had a drinking problem throughout her life. She did not quit while the family lived in Corfu and she continued to drink after they returned to England. Sadly...


	16. The Trial

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The trial is here. Not an easy time for Louisa, but it has to happen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a long chapter today, but I did not want to break it up...

  * Wednesday morning. They all get up early and wear their dress clothes for the trial. At breakfast they all look tense, “how are you feeling mother?”, “very nervous, Margot. I am looking forward to the end of today”, she looks around the table: “how are you all feeling? You will be called to testify. The interrogation by Hugh’s lawyer will not be easy”, Gerry speaks with stern voice: “it won’t but we are not worried. We know what happened on that day. We saw it. We will let everybody know”, “thank you Gerry, I wish you did not have to do this. You are so young”, he smirks: “not that young mother, I can do it, don’t worry”, she hugs and kisses him: “thank you, baby”, “I am not a baby, mother!”. They all laugh. Certain things will never change. Spiros looks at them all: “I am so grateful you are all so supportive. I know we can get through this, as a family”, he looks at Louisa and kisses her tenderly, “it won’t be easy love but we will face and overcome this together. Like we did for other things”, she smiles at him very sweetly: “I know, love”. They kiss.
  * As they walk into the courtroom they find many of their friends in the audience. Dr. Mavrodaki and Dennis, Florence, Christos, Sven, Theo and Maria, Alecko’s wife Irene, Lugaretzia, and many of their Greek friends. Spiros’ parents are there too, even though the proceedings will be in English. Irene, Theo, and Maria sit next to them, so that they can translate for them. There are also several other people who are there just out of curiosity. The room is very crowded. Hugh and his lawyer Stavros are sitting at a table. As instructed by Dr. Mavrodaki, Louisa avoids making eye contact with Hugh. Alecko, Louisa, and Spiros sit at a table too. The Durrell children sit in the front row of audience seats, which is reserved for witnesses. Dr. Petridis and Dimitra are already sitting there.

  * The judge enters the courtroom and speaks solemnly: “I will assume that all of you have read and are very familiar with the police report, the alleged victim’s report, the independent witness reports, and Dr. Petridis’ medical report based on his visit performed on Mrs. Durrell shortly after the alleged assault”, Alecko and Stavros answer: “yes, your honor”. The judge continues: “let’s begin the interrogations with the accused, Mr. Jarvis”. Hugh swears on the bible even though they all know that he is not religious, then his lawyer Stavros stands up and reads their statement: Spiros attacked Hugh because he was jealous that Louisa was having intercourse with him after accepting to marry him. He even threatened Hugh of death. Alecko stands up and begins his interrogation: “you are saying that Mrs. Durrell was consenting to have intercourse with you after agreeing to marry you”, “yes”, “but the witnesses, police, and doctor reports consistently describe her as very traumatized. She was crying and shaking so badly that she could not walk back to her house. Mr. Halikiopoulos had to carry her. How did that happen if she was consenting?”, “I don’t know, maybe it was guilt”, Alecko looks skeptical: “guilt? So, you think that she first agreed to have sex with you, then she felt so guilty about it that she’d have a full-blown trauma?”, “maybe she was scared of retaliation because Spiro had just caught us in the act”, “if she was so scared of Mr. Halikiopoulos, why would she consent to have intercourse with you? She knew it all along that he was behind his car, fairly close to you”, “maybe that’s why she was so quiet while we were at it”, “you did not know that he was there, did you?”, “no I did not”, “so how come he did not hear you? Were you quiet too?”, “yes, because her children were by the house”.
  * “And why were Mrs. Durrell’s clothes all ripped and why was she so hurt? The medical report describes rather extensive fresh injuries over her body. That is inconsistent with consensual sex”, “it wasn’t me”, “do you think she intentionally ripped her own clothes and hurt herself?”, “no, it was Spiro. She is in an abusive relationship with a violent man. That’s why she agreed to marry me. To escape it”, “are you saying that when you first saw Mrs. Durrell on that day her clothes were already ripped and she was already hurt?”, “yes”, “did you ask her about that?”, “yes, she did not want to tell me at first, but when I pushed, she admitted that Spiro had done that to her”, “how about the trauma, did she look traumatized?”, “yes”, “and how would a very traumatized woman, who couldn’t even walk, agree to intercourse at that point?”, “she did, but she looked scared”, “scared?”, “yes, of Spiro”, “were you surprised?”, “I wasn’t, everybody knows that Spiro is a violent man”, “so when you returned to Corfu, you knew that Mr. Halikiopulos, whom you describe as notoriously violent, had moved in with Mrs. Durrell and you still went to their house and proposed to her?”, “I did not know he was there. I learned that later”, “had you known it would you have proposed to her?”, “yes”, “why?”, “because I love her”, “but she wouldn’t marry you if she loved another man”, “I believe she is being psychologically coerced by him into that relationship, but she has loved me all along”.
  * These are all lies and rather upsetting. As instructed by Dr. Mavrodaki, Louisa is looking away from Hugh. Staring in front of her. Spiros notices she is upset, looks at her lovingly, then reaches for and holds her hand in her lap under the table. She smiles sweetly at him and puts her other hand on his. They don’t know that from his viewpoint the judge can see that very well. 
  * Alecko continues with his questions: “you had asked Mrs. Durrell to move back to England with you before, hadn’t you?”, “yes”, “what was her answer?”, “she agreed to go with me at first, but then she changed her mind”, “do you have an explanation for that?”, “it was my fault. My proposal was not committing enough. I only asked Louisa to move back to England with me. I should have asked her to marry me instead”, “so you came back to propose?”, “yes”, “that was many months later. Did you have reason to think she’d accept to marry you?”, “yes, I knew she was in love with me”, “how could you be so sure? While you were away to recover from your wound did you remain in contact with Mrs. Durrell?”, “yes, we exchanged many letters”, “so you are saying that Mrs. Durrell refused you just before you left, but continued to write to you?”, “yes”, “what was the tone of her letters?”, “very loving”, “have you saved them? Can you show them to this court?”, “no, they were lost. My maid tossed them in the fireplace”, “does your maid normally burn your private correspondence?”, “no, she did that by accident”. Alecko looks skeptical: “so she took letters and burned them without checking with you first?”, “yes, you know, these Greek peasants are not very bright”. There is a murmur of disapproval from the audience. Alecko smiles: “I think we can leave this here”.

  * Alecko continues: “I call Mrs. Louisa Florence Emily Dixie Durrell for testimony now”. Louisa goes to the stand and swears on a photo of her children. Alecko reads Louisa’s statement. She rejected Hugh’s marriage proposal and he assaulted her because of that. Spiros saved her from rape, then: “Mrs. Durrell, I realize this is going to be difficult for you. I hope you are doing all right”, she answers with firm voice: “I am, thank you”, “Mr. Jarvis just said that when he first asked you to move to England with him several months ago you initially agreed, is that correct?”, “no, I told him that I wanted to think about it”, “did you agree to go with him later?”, “I did not. I told him I was not going to England with him”, “when was that?”, “the day his girlfriend Vasilia stabbed him”, “…and Mr. Halikiopoulos saved his life while you were fetching Dr. Petridis…”, “that’s correct”, “had he proposed to you instead, would you have accepted it?”, she answers with firm voice: “no”, “why not?”, “I was not in love with him”.
  * “When Mr. Jarvis asked you to marry him when he returned from his convalescence in Athens more than a year later, what was your answer?”, “I told him I wouldn’t”, “why?”, “because I don’t love him”, “but he is a wealthy man. He could look after you and your children”, “I know, but I wouldn’t marry for that reason”, “why not?”, “I believe one should marry only for love”, “is that what you did when you married your husband?”, “yes”, “you are no longer married now, correct?”, “my husband died in 1928, more than 10 years ago”, “are you in love with someone else now?”, she answers with softer voice: “I am”, “who?”, she looks at Spiros and makes a sweet smile: “Spiros Halikiopoulos”, “the two of you have been living together for more than 6 months, correct?”, “yes”, “how is that working out?”, “very well, we are happy”, “you said you love him. Does he love you?”, “yes”, “how do you know?”, she blushes: “he tells me very often and I can see it”, “do you ever have doubts about that?”, “never”, “is he ever aggressive, violent, or unkind to you?”, she answers with strong voice: “never, he is a very loving and respectful partner”, “do you ever question your own feelings for him?”, she blushes: “no, I love him very much”, “would you consider marrying another man?”, she answers with strong voice: “I wouldn’t”, “how about sex? Would you have sex with another man?”, she speaks with strong and determined voice: “never!”, “so you did not consent to have intercourse with Mr. Jarvis?”, “I did not”, “but he says you did”, “that’s a lie”, “might it have been a misunderstanding?”, she answers strongly: “no!”, “how can you be so sure?”, “I told him to leave our house”, “why?”, “he was being rude to me and he had offended Spiro”, “how?”, “he asked me whether I was doing Spiro, whether he was doing me, and he called him a Greek troglodyte who hardly speaks English”, “is that when Mr. Jarvis assaulted you?”, now her voice is not as strong: “yes, after I told him it was none of his business and I asked him to leave”, “how did you respond to the assault?”, her voice is shaky now: “I kept struggling and pushing back. But he was too strong. I couldn’t…”, she is crying now, Alecko hands Louisa a glass of water, “do you need a break Mrs. Durrell?”, she takes a sip, then answers with shaky voice: “no, thanks, I’d rather continue”, “all right, but you should know that you can ask for a break any time”, she answers with trembling voice: “thank you”, “how else did you make it clear that you were not consenting to intercourse with Mr. Jarvis?”, she replies with soft shaky voice: “I bit his hand and when he moved it from my mouth I screamed, no, no, Hugh, no, stop, stop, Hugh, help, help”, she is crying again now. The judge notices that Spiros is looking at Louisa very lovingly, wiping tears from his own eyes. Instead, Hugh is looking at her coldly. Alecko smiles at her kindly: “thank you Mrs. Durrell. I am done, your honor”.
  * Stavros approaches her: “Mrs. Durrell, you said you did not consent to intercourse with Mr. Jarvis, then why did you agree to marry him?”, she answers with strong voice again: “I did not. I did not even let him finish his question”, “why not?”, “I don’t love him”, “but in your letters you said otherwise”, “I never did”, “are you saying that you did not write to Mr. Jarvis?”, “I did, I replied to his first letter”, “what did his letter say?”, “he gave me the address of the hospital in Athens where he was recovering from his stab wound”, “anything else?”, “yes, he said he loved me and wanted us to be together”, “what did you reply?”, “I wished him a full recovery and I told him that he should stop writing about love because I did not love him”, “did you write those exact words?”, she replies strongly: “yes”, “did Mr. Jarvis write back to you?”, “yes”, “and what did you reply?”, “nothing, I never replied to his second letter”, “why not?”, “because he kept talking about love and I did not want to encourage that”. Stavros looks skeptical: “and I guess you do not have a carbon copy of your letter?”, she answers with strong voice: “I actually do, I have both of Hugh’s letters and the copy of my only reply”. Alecko produces the letters and hands them to the judge.
  * Stavros changes topic: “so Mr. Halikiopoulos has been living with you for more than 6 months?”, “yes”, “do you share a bed? Is your relationship physical?”, these are the difficult questions she feared. She replies with firm but low voice: “yes”, “how frequently do you have intercourse?”, she looks down, blushed: “a few times a week”, “but Mr. Halikiopoulos is a married man!”, he looks at the audience with disapproving expression, she looks at him with firm eyes, now: “Spiro and his wife are not in love. They are separated”, “so you think it is fine, then, to live in sin with a married man and fornicating with him?”, she answers with firmer voice: “how is that sinful? We are in love”, “you and Mr. Halikiopoulos are not married, correct?”, “that’s correct”. Stavros looks towards the judge and the audience: “maybe in England that is acceptable. Here it isn’t. We are a decent society!”. Louisa looks upset, Alecko shouts: “objection! How is that relevant to this case?”, Stavros continues: “Mrs. Durrell, you are saying that you’d have frequent intercourse with a married man, but you would not consent to it with a man who loves you, wants to marry you, and make an honest woman of you”, she replies with strong voice: “I would never consent to anything with Hugh”, “and we are supposed to believe you…”, “yes”, “why should we?”, she answers strongly: “because I love Spiro, not Hugh”. The judge instructs the scriber: “remove the comment about acceptance in England or Greece, but leave the rest on record.
  * Stavros continues: “you said you love Mr. Halikiopoulos”, “yes”, “but he is known to be a violent man”, she answers with strong voice: “he isn’t!”, he makes a triumphant smile and points at her upper arm: “can you lift that sleeve, please, Mrs. Durrell?”, she does, “can you please explain these bruises Mrs. Durrell? Who caused them?”, she replies with firm voice: “that was Spiro but it was part of a medical protocol”, he makes a very skeptical face: “oh really? What ‘medical’ protocol?”, she speaks more softly: “it’s called re-enactment. I did it because of my PTS”, she is getting upset now, “can you explain what PTS is?”, she answers with shaky voice: “Post Traumatic Stress. I developed it after Hugh assaulted me. It consists of very frequent flashbacks of the assault. During them, the memory of the assault replays itself in my brain and it feels like Hugh is assaulting me over and over again. Before we did the re-enactment protocol I had those flashbacks many times a day. Even at night, with nightmares. It was very difficult”, she is crying now. The judge notices that Spiros is looking at her with teary eyes too, “and how would Mr. Halikiopoulos hurting you help with that?”, “it was part of the re-enactment protocol”, “re-enactment? Meaning that Mr. Halikiopoulos beats you over and over?”, she sounds quite upset now: “no, no, it’s a medical procedure and we did it only once”, “was a doctor involved with this supposed ‘medical procedure’?”, she speaks softly: “yes, my psychiatrist”, “I don’t know of any psychiatrist on Corfu island. Who is this person?”, she replies with low voice: “I can’t tell you, the doctor does not wish their profession to be known”, he looks really skeptical now: “a psychiatrist in town who, very conveniently, does not want to be known, eh? I think you are lying Mrs. Durrell, to cover the fact that Mr. Halikiopoulos is a violent man who regularly beats you”, she sounds quite upset: “he isn’t! He is a good and caring man! He’d never hurt me! He loves me!”, “sadly, those bruises say otherwise, Mrs. Durrell”. She is crying hard now.
  * In that moment, the countess stands up: “as her Psychiatrist I can confirm what Mrs. Durrell is saying and I am prepared to testify under oath on it”. The audience gasps.
  * Alecko speaks: “I object to the last comment by Stavro”, the judge replies: “granted, it should be removed from the record. Any further questions?”, Stavros answers: “no, your honor”.

  * Alecko walks up to a crying Louisa as she gets up to walk back to their table. He reaches for her and lightly touches her back with his hand. Suddenly, she screams, with terrified voice: “no, no, no, Hugh, stop it, stop Hugh, no, Hugh, no, no, help, help!!”. Spiros springs off his chair and runs to her, then he sweetly talks to her ear: “Louisa, listen to my voice, my love, it’s Spiro. I am here with you, you are safe with me. Listen to me, love”, Louisa stops screaming. She is listening with her eyes still closed, “open your eyes now, love, look at me”, she opens her eyes, “who are you seeing?”, “Spiro…”, “who is Spiro?”, with a sweet smile, she speaks through her tears: “my love”, “yes it’s me, love, and you are safe with me”. He opens his arms, she hides in his embrace, crying in the crook of his neck. Alecko is visibly upset: “I am so sorry, Louisa, I was not thinking. I should have not touched you”, Spiros replies: “it is not your fault, Alecko. You are not the one who has done this to her”, he looks at Hugh who is watching expressionless. Louisa is still crying in Spiros’ arms. He is caressing her hair: “she will be fine, but she needs some time to recover now”, Alecko turns to the judge: “I ask for a 30 min break, your honor”, “granted”. The Judge gets up and shows them to his office. Spiros lovingly helps a crying Louisa walk out of the courtroom, his arm around her shoulders. In his office, the judge points at a small sofa: “you can sit here, for as long as you need”, Louisa is still crying in Spiros’ arms, “thank you judge, she will be better soon”, “here is some water”, the judge puts a bottle of water and glasses on a small table then returns to the courtroom, closing his office’s door behind him. During the break, Larry shows Alecko some papers. Meanwhile, Louisa and Spiros sit in the judge’s office until she stops crying. Then they go back to the courtroom and sit in their chairs. Louisa is better, but she is still visibly upset. Spiros looks at her sweetly and holds her hand in her lap under the table again. She puts her other hand on it. They smile at each other very lovingly. The judge can see that very well. 

  * Alecko gets up: “I now call Dr. Mavrodaki to testify. The countess swears on the bible and sits at the stand: “doctor, can you explain those bruises on Mrs. Durrell’s arms?”, “yes, they were caused by Spiro during the implementation of the re-enactment protocol, under my specific instructions”, “are they greater than you would expect based on your instructions?”, “no, based on my instructions that level of contusions was unavoidable”, “can you rule out that they are the result of violence under other circumstances?”, “absolutely”, “why?”, “Louisa had no signs of any violence before the protocol”, “can you describe Mrs. Durrell’s and Mr. Halikiopoulos’ implementation of the protocol for us?”, “I can’t, due to doctor-patient confidentiality”, “that’s understandable, doctor. Do you see Mrs. Durrell often?”, “I do, I see Louisa and Spiro every day”, “why so often?”, “her PTS is at a stage that benefits from frequent sessions”, “so you confirm the diagnosis…”, “yes, Louisa has a clear case of PTS”, “are you certain?”, “yes, PTS is my specialty. I have seen hundreds of cases and published extensively on it”, “can you prove it?”. Larry stands up and hands Alecko several scientific publications by Dr. Mavrodaki. She looks at Larry, surprised. Larry smiles at her. Alecko takes the articles and shows them to the countess: “Dr. Mavrodaki, can you recognize these?”, “I can, they are some of my scientific publications on the use of the reenactment procedure in PTS”, Alecko gives the papers to the judge.
  * “You said that you see Mrs. Durrell and Mr. Halikiopoulos together, why?”, “because couple therapy is the most effective approach, in cases like theirs”, “what do you mean with ‘cases like theirs’?”, “my published statistical analyses have repeatedly shown that a loving and supporting partner to whom the patient is very bonded is the best predictor of positive outcome in patients with PTS”, “are you saying that Mrs. Durrell and Mr. Halikiopoulos meet that description?”, “yes”, “how?”, “the two of them are very in love. Louisa is very attached to him and he is very loving and supportive. One example I can mention without violating patient confidentiality, has just occurred here. As you have just seen, Louisa is experiencing panic attacks induced by the playback of her traumatic memory. During those attacks, she responds to Spiro’s voice. She would not respond to anybody else’s voice, not even that of her children. That is a strong objective indicator of how attached to Spiro she is. Most women with PTS have no way of stopping their memory playbacks. Thanks to her love for Spiro, she does”, 
  * “What about Mr. Halikiopoulos? Is he a loving and supportive partner as per your earlier definition?”, “Spiro is remarkably loving and supportive. His dedication is impressive: in order to stop hundreds and hundreds of her memory playbacks, he has been constantly near her for weeks. You have just seen one instance of that. Not only he effectively stops those attacks, but also, he does that very, very, lovingly. Again, this is a strong objective indicator of how attached to Louisa he is”. Meanwhile, Spiros and Louisa are still holding hands under the table. They look at each other and smile sweetly. The judge and the audience can see that very well.
  * “Based on your professional experience, would you call Mr. Halikiopoulos a violent man?”, “not at all. He is very respectful and he would never use any violence on Louisa or anybody else”, “so how did he do the re-enactment protocol that caused those bruises?”, “with great difficulty. He was very emotional throughout”, “why would he do it, then?”, “for her, to help her get better. It was a selfless act of true love”. Louisa and Spiros look at each other sweetly again.
  * “You said that Mrs. Durrell is very attached to Mr. Halikiopoulos”, “she is”, “based on your professional judgment and what you know about her, which we understand you cannot disclose in detail, would you deem it possible that she’d agree to marry and have intercourse with another man?”. “I am certain she would never do that”, “thank you Dr. Mavrodaki. I have no further questions, your honor”.
  * Stavros gets up: “countess, it seems nobody knew you are a doctor, let alone a Psychiatrist”, “I have a Medical Degree and a specialization in Psychiatry, both from La Sorbonne Universite’, Paris. I can provide my credentials any time.”, “so why did no one know?”, “I am retired and I did not want people to seek my services”, “so how did Mrs. Durrell and Mr. Halikiopoulos become your patients?”, “Dr. Petridis referred them to me”, “why?”, “he was seeing them for Louisa’s PTS and he felt that I could be of greater help than he was”, “why?”, “because PTS is my specialty, whereas Dr. Petridis is a general practitioner. He knew about the re-enactment protocol. He thought it could help in Louisa’s case, but he did not feel comfortable implementing it himself”, “if you are retired why did you accept to see them?”, “because knowing the two of them, I shared Dr. Petridis assessment that the re-enactment protocol could be effective in Louisa’s case. It would have been unethical of me to refuse my help”, “did you say that you knew them before Dr. Petridis referred them to you?”, “yes”, “how?”, “we are friends”, “good friends?”, “yes”, “such good friends that you’d lie for them?”, “I would never lie under oath, differently from Mr. Jarvis”, “how would you know that he lied?”, “I know that Louisa would never agree to marry or be intimate with him. I also know that she was truly assaulted. She has all of the symptoms of PTS. You have just witnessed one of them: a panic attack triggered by being touched by a man”, “but you cannot rule out that the assailant was someone else”, “I can rule out that it was Spiro”, “how?”, “during her attacks she always and consistently screams Hugh’s name as the assailant. You have just heard that. Also, if Spiro was the assailant she would not trust and respond to him the way she does”, “but women are known to allow and hide violence from men they are in love with”, “that’s correct, but that is not the case for Louisa”, “how can you rule that out?”, “I have never seen any signs of violence on her. Also, I had many conversations with her, including privately. I know she is in a very loving relationship with an extremely supportive partner and I am certain she is not a victim of intimate partner violence”, “certain? How can you?”, “I have many years of experience. This is my very definitive professional assessment of Louisa’s case”. “Thank you, I have no further questions”.

  * Alecko gets up: “I now call Mr. Spyridon Halikiopoulos to testify. Spiros walks up to the stand and swears on a photo of his children. Alecko reads his statement that he intervened to prevent a sexual violence and that is the reason for he punched Hugh to the ground. “Mr. Halikiopoulos, where were you when Mr. Jarvis arrived to the house?”, “I was sitting on the ground by my car. I had just finished doing maintenance to it”, “did you know that Mr. Jarvis had arrived?”, “yes I recognized the sound of the engine of his car and I could hear most of his conversation with Louisa”, “so why did you not make your presence known?”, “I thought Louisa could deal with Hugh herself and that my presence would make their conversation more awkward”, “could you hear his marriage proposal?”, “yes”, “how did you feel about it?”, “I felt sorry for him”, “really?”, “well, I’d be very sad if Louisa rejected me”, “why?”, “because I love her”, “so in that regard you and Mr. Jarvis are similar”, “except that I would never use violence on her”, “not even if she rejected you?”, “never”.
  * “Were you surprised about Mr. Jarvis’ marriage proposal?”, “I was surprised he’d be back. I was not surprised he’d propose to her”, “why not?”, “I knew he loved her”, “how?”, “it was clear when he was in Corfu’. He courted her rather openly”, “that was almost two years ago. The proposal we are talking about happened many months later. Were you really not surprised?”, “I knew he still loved her. Louisa had shown his letters to me”, Alecko seems surprised: “she had?”, “yes”, “were you surprised she’d do that? Those are rather personal letters”, “they are personal, but I was not surprised. Louisa and I have very good dialogue. We are open to each other. We don’t hide things”, “were you jealous?”, “no”, “why not, another man was writing love letters to the woman with whom you claim to be in love”, “I am!”, “then why were you not jealous?”, “because I knew she did not love him”, “did you read the letter she wrote to him?”, “yes, she showed it to me before posting it”, “did you tell her what to write?”, “no”, “why not?”, “I don’t tell her what to do”, “but you could, couldn’t you? You are living together. She is _yours_”, “she may be mine, but she is free”, “free to leave you?”, “if so she wishes, yes”, “how would you feel if she did, leave you for another man?”, “very sad”, “so on the day of the alleged assault, you must have been worried she may accept Mr. Jarvis proposal”, “I wasn’t”, “not even a little? Did you not think she may accept to marry him?”, “I didn’t. I knew she wouldn’t”, “how could you be so sure?”, he is blushed now: “because I know she loves me”, “how?”, “she tells me. It shows. We don’t hide our feelings for each other. We are very in love”, he looks up at Louisa now. She looks at him. They smile at each other. Very sweet smiles. The judge and the audience can see that very well. Alecko smiles: “those truly loving gazes and smiles you’ve just exchanged are the best proof of your claim…”.
  * “Back to that day, when did you realize that she was being assaulted?”, “when she screamed”, “not before?”, “no there was silence before”, “why?”, “he had his hand on her mouth”, “but you couldn’t know it”, “no, I was still sitting on the ground”, “what did you think of the silence?”, “I thought he was going back to his car after she asked him to leave our house”. “According to Mrs. Durrell’s report, collected by the police shortly after the alleged assault, Mr. Jarvis put a hand on her mouth then he told her: ‘now I will forage where that Greek has’, did you not hear that?”, “I wish I did, I could have stopped him much earlier”, his voice is upset now, “do you know why you could not hear that?”, “according to Louisa he whispered it in her ear”, “and you could not hear that”, “I couldn’t”.
  * “So when you intervened it was to stop the violence?”, “yes”, “are you sure she was not consenting to intercourse with Mr. Jarvis?”, “I am sure”, “how?”, “she was struggling and screaming for help”, “what did you do when she screamed?”, “I got up and ran over”, “what did you see?”, he sounds upset: “he was pushing really hard on her, roughly holding one hand on her mouth and holding his penis while moving it towards her intimate parts”, “so he was going to rape her”, “yes, I stopped him just in time”, “how?”, “I grabbed his shirt, pulled him off her, and punched him to the ground”, “how many punches?”, “just one”, “was that enough?”, “yes because Leslie arrived in that moment and immobilized him”, “what did you do after punching Mr. Jarvis?”, “I hugged Louisa”, “why that and not punch him more? You must have been very angry”, “I was, but I was very concerned with Louisa’s conditions”, “how was she?”, he answers with upset voice: “she was badly hurt and she was sobbing and shaking very hard”, “did you console her?”, “I tried but she was very upset”, “how did she respond to your hug?”, “she cried in my arms, in the crook of my neck”, he looks at Louisa now. She is looking at him, with sad but very sweet teary eyes, Alecko continues: “so after that initial punch you did not approach Mr. Jarvis again?”, “no, Leslie and Larry held him down until the police arrived”, “thank you I have no further questions your honor”. As he leaves, Alecko, looks at the audience and the judge: “a comment off the record: I would NOT define you a ‘troglodyte who hardly speaks English’. Your English seems very fluent to me…”.
  * Stavros walks up to Spiros: “you said Mrs. Durrell was not consenting to intercourse, how would you feel if she was, instead?”, he answers firmly: “I know she wouldn’t”, “that does not answer my question”, “I’d be very sad”, “angry?”, “possibly, but mostly sad”, “why?” “I love her and I’d be sad if she had someone else”, he looks skeptical: “so sad, but not angry?”, “possibly even angry but I would not be violent on her for that”, “maybe not on her, but on her suitor?”, “I wouldn’t”, “why not? He’d be your rival”, “yes, but the ultimate choice would be hers, so there would be no point taking it on to him”, “that sounds very honorable, until we remember that you did punch Mr. Jarvis and you threatened him of death”, he answers very calmly: “I punched him to stop his assault and I said I’d kill him because I was very angry. But I did not do it, did I? He is still alive and rather unharmed, unlike Louisa…”, as he says those last words his voice is broken, “had the police not arrived, maybe you would have killed him”, “had I wanted to I would have had the time before the police arrived”, Stavros sounds skeptical again: “maybe, or maybe not…”, Alecko intervenes: “objection!”, “granted”.
  * “The police report and the doctor report both describe damage to Mrs. Durrell’s clothes and body that seems very extensive for an episode that lasted only a few minutes”, “yes, I was surprised of that too”, “surprised? I don’t think you were, Mr. Halikiopoulos, because _you_ had caused that damage just before Mr. Jarvis arrived!”, he answers with strong voice: “I had not!”, “can you prove it?”, “how could I? it just doesn’t make any sense!”, “why not?”, “why would she still be wearing that ripped dress? Why wouldn’t she have treated her wounds?”, “because you had just done that to her. She did not have the time to clean up or change because Mr. Jarvis arrived”, “but her children were in the house, they would have intervened!”, “not if they were very scared of you because of previous violence. Maybe you are violent to them too!”, “I’d never!”, “how are we to believe you, Mr. Halikiopoulos? Your ‘girlfriend’ was all damaged and her children did nothing to prevent it!”, “those are all lies! Louisa was just fine when Hugh arrived and her children would step in to stop any violence. It’s four of them, five if you count Louisa. If I was violent they’d easily overpower me. They love their mother. They would never tolerate any violence on her! They did intervene when Hugh assaulted her! Instead, they were all relaxing and going about their own business, as they usually do on weekends, because there was nothing for them to worry about!”. The Durrell children are all nodding now. The judge and the audience see that.
  * Stavros changes topic: “so you have been living with Mrs. Durrell”, “I have”, “in sin”, “that is your way of putting it”, How would you put it?”, “we live together within a relationship based on very deep and reciprocal love”, “but the two of you are not married”, “we can’t. I am still married to Dimitra”, “whom you have abandoned for Mrs. Durrell”, “yes”, “so you have left your legitimate wife for a woman who would live in sin and fornicate with a married man”, he answers with very firm voice: “that is a very unfair description. Louisa is a widow and she has been conducting herself very honorably on our island. Everybody knows”, “how is sleeping with a married man honorable?”, “we are in love. She would not do it if we weren’t”, “how do you know?”, “she hasn’t before me”, “so in your mind your relationship is honorable?”, “yes!”, Stavros looks at the audience: “if you say so…”. Alecko steps in: “objection!”, the judge nods: “granted, remove the last remark”, “how confident are you that the same woman who would live in sin with a married man would not agree to intercourse with a man who is proposing to her and intends to make an honest woman of her?”, “very confident. She loves me, not Hugh”, “how do you know?”, “I can see it and she tells me very often”, “yea… because we all believe what English women tell their Greek ‘boyfriends’…”. Alecko intervenes: “objection!”, the judge agrees: “granted, remove that last remark from the record”. I have no further questions, your honor”.
  * Spiros sits back near Louisa. She looks upset again, shaking slightly, staring straight in front of her, as advised by Dr. Mavrodaki. He reaches for her hand in her lap, under the table. She responds to that looking at him with a sweet smile. He smiles at her sweetly too. She puts her other hand on his again. Like before, the judge can see that clearly. 

  * Alecko stands up: “I now call to testify the other witnesses; Mrs. Durrell’s children, in order of how close they were to the event. First, Mr. Gerald Malcolm Durrell. Louisa gasps. Her baby! Gerry walks up to the stand, looking very confident. He swears on the bible. Alecko begins: “Mr. Durrell, you were very close, weren’t you?”, “yes I was a few meters behind Spiro’s car, tending to my donkey”, “could you see Mr. Halikiopoulos?”, “yes, and mom”, “she was there too?”, yes, before Hugh arrived she was near Spiro”, “were your mother’s clothes damaged and was she hurt at that point?”, “no, she looked just fine”, “what were your mother and Mr. Halikiopoulos doing?”, “they were talking, “could you hear what they were saying?”, “yes, very well”, “what did they say?”, “she told him that after he was done with his car maintenance he should take a bath”, “why?”, “because he was laying on the ground in the dust”, “then what?”, “she squatted down, he sat up and they kissed”, “could you hear what they said then?”, “yes, she said ‘I love you, Spiro’, and he said ‘I love you too, Louisa’”, “so just before Mr. Jarvis arrived your mother told Mr. Halikiopoulos that she loved him?”, “yes”, “is that surprising to you?”, “no, we all know that she loves him”, “how?”, “he lives with us. We see them together. They are very affectionate to each other”, “what do you think of that?”, “I am happy, I like Spiro and he makes mother happy”, “did you see Mr. Jarvis arrive?”, “yes, I recognized his red car”, “did you see him propose to your mother?”, “not completely, because when he kneeled on the ground he was partly covered by Spiro’s car”, “could you hear their conversation?”, “not well, I was too far, but I am sure mother was rejecting his marriage proposal”, “how can you be so sure?”, “mother loves Spiros she would never marry Hugh. Also, Hugh got up from the ground with the ring still in his hand. She had not accepted it, obviously”, “are you sure Mr. Jarvis still had the ring?”, “yes, I could see it very well. The ring was still in the jeweler box he was holding”.
  * “Did you see the assault?”, “yes, at that point they were standing, so I could see well”, “all of it?”, “not as well after he pushed her down against his car”, “but you are sure he pushed her”, “yes. That was very clear”, “she was not consenting?”, “not at all, he assaulted her and she struggled to push him back”, “so what did you do then?”, “I exited the donkey enclosure and I ran around it to go there and help mom”, “so that was before she screamed for help?”, “yes, she screamed while I was running around the enclosure”, “what did you see then?”, “Spiro got up and ran there, he grabbed Hugh off mother and punched him to the ground. Then he went to mother and hugged her”, “how did your mother respond to that?”, she leaned against his shoulder and cried”, “when did you get there?”, “right after Spiro, at the same time as Leslie and Margot”, “and what did you do?”, “I helped Leslie and Margot hold Hugh until Larry arrived, “then what?”, Larry helped Leslie. Margot went to mother and Spiro. Then Leslie shouted: ‘go get the police’ and Spiro said: ‘and the doctor’. So, I ran to the police first, then to Dr. Petridis’ house”. “You said Mr. Halikiopoulos has been living with you”, “yes”, “have you ever observed any violence or altercation between him and your mother?”, “never, he is a very loving partner to mother and she loves him. They are happy together”, “how about simple unkindness between the two of them?”, “never”, “are they ever in disagreement?”, “sometimes”, “do they fight when that happens?”, “never, they just talk it over”, “thank you Mr. Durrell. I have no further questions, your honor”.
  * Stavros gets up: “Mr. Durrell, you said you could not hear or see well”, “I could not hear well, but I could see a lot”, “how are you so sure that your mother was not consenting to intercourse with Mr. Jarvis?”, “she was pushing back. She was clearly not consenting”, “you are just a child. How would you know what she looks like when she is consenting?”, “I know what she looks like when she is with Spiro”, “can you describe that?”, “she hugs him and she kisses him, and when he hugs her she neither pushes back nor struggles. Rather, she hugs him back”, Stavros comments with skeptical voice: “so you witness those types of interactions between your mother and Mr. Halikiopoulos?”, “yes”, “how? Do you spy on them when they are alone?”, “of course not! They do that in front of us”, “a lot?”, “yes”, “can you be more specific?”, “many times a day”, “so your mother and her lover make out in front of you, a child, many times a day?”, “they hug and kiss very often. They are very in love”, Stavros looks at the audience: “ti allo ginonte afta’ ta pedia’ se afto’ to spiti?!?”, Gerry replies, angry: “mono ankalies kai filia’. Tiptoa allo! Ti thelete na doume? Gourouni!”, the audience bursts into laughter. The judge shouts: “order, order”, Alecko and Stavros shout: “objection!”, the judge nods: “granted, remove those remarks in Greek”, “I have no more questions your honor”.

(trnsl: what else do these children see in that house?; only hugs and kisses. Nothing else. What do you want us to see? Pig!)

  * Alecko gets up: “now I call Mr. Leslie Stuart Durrell. Leslie confirms Gerry’s description very precisely, including the fact that his mother was not hurt and her clothes were not damaged before Hugh’s arrival. He also confirms their capability of assessing whether or not their mother was consenting to Hugh’s advances. “she was not. She was pushing back. She screamed for help. She loves Spiro. She would never consent to anything with Hugh, certainly neither sex, nor marriage”, “how did you hold Mr. Jarvis down?”, “I twisted his arm behind his back. I received training in that maneuver while I was in the Corfu Town Police force”, “was Mr. Halikiopoulos being violent to Mr. Jarvis?”, “not after the one punch to knock him to the ground. He was holding mother who was crying hard in his arms”, “she was not pushing back?”, “no, she was finding some comfort, crying in his arms”, “have you ever witnessed any form of violence between your mother and Mr. Halikiopoulos??”, “never, he is always very loving with her”, “not even rough or unkind words, maybe because of a disagreement?”, “never, he is always very respectful. We are all happy he is living with us”, “wouldn’t you prefer Mr. Jarvis? He has more money”, “I wouldn’t. He is very self-centered and I believe he doesn’t truly love mother. He just wants to own her and take her away with him. Spiro loves her, respects her, and makes her happy. I am much happier that she is with Spiro than Hugh”.
  * Stavros gets up: “you were rather far from the scene, weren’t you?”, “I was on the veranda with Margot. We could see what was happening”, “but you couldn’t hear”, “that’s correct”, “then you wouldn’t know whether or not your mother accepted Mr. Jarvis’ marriage proposal and consented to having sex with him”, “I couldn’t, hear but I could see that she was being assaulted, not consenting. Also, she wouldn’t have sex so publicly. She knew we were watching. She is rather shy about sex. She blushes each time the topic comes up”, “is that topic discussed frequently in your household?”, Not by mother. It’s Larry who brings it up quite often”, “and how does your mother respond?”, “she tells him he shouldn’t talk like that”, “it seems in your household way too many adult-themed conversations and behaviors occur in front of minors…”, Alecko interjects: “objection!”, “granted, remove that last remark”. Stavros continues: “I understand that you left the police force because you were covering up your brother Lawrence’s break in to the countess’ house”, “I was not covering up, I just left the force rather than continuing that investigation”, “so we are now supposed to believe your testimony?”, “I would never lie under oath. I left so that I would not find myself in that position”, “but you are testifying now”, “I am and I am not lying”, “I have no other questions”.

  * Alecko gets up: “I now call Miss. Margaret Isabel Mabel Durrell. Margot confirms her siblings’ testimonies: “Leslie and I were watching the scene from the veranda. I could see well. Mother was not hurt and her dress was not damaged before Hugh’s assault. I saw Hugh propose to her, then they talked for a while. Then he assaulted her. It was very clear that mother was not consenting. That is why Leslie and I ran there”, “was that before she screamed?”, “yes, when we noticed that he was attacking her”, “Spiro is not a violent man. He is a very sweet and loving partner. We are happy that mother loves him. He is a member of our family, now. We all love him”.
  * Stavros gets up: “so you know for sure what your mother looks like when she is consenting to sex?”, “not exactly, but I know what she looks like when her and Spiro hug and kiss. She did not look anything like that with Hugh. And we just know she would never consent. She loves Spiro”, “but she lives in sin with one man. How do you know she would not have consensual sex with another?”, “she is in love with Spiro. She would not go with someone else. She is not that kind of woman. She had no other lovers before Spiro, after father died”, “are you sure?”, “yes”, “how?”, “I asked her and she told me. And we’d know if she had someone else. As a family, we don’t hide things. We are open to each other.”, “it seems children know and see an awful lot in your household”, Alecko shouts: “objection!”, the judge nods: “granted, remove the last remark”.

  * Alecko gets up: “last, I call Lawrence George Durrell”. Larry confirms his sibling’s stories. “I did not see Hugh arrive and propose because I was working in my room. When I heard mother scream, I looked out of the window and saw that she was being attacked by Hugh. I ran there and helped Leslie hold Hugh down while Gerry ran to town and Spiro and Margot held mother who was rather hurt, crying and shaking very badly”. “Mother believes in leading by example. She does not hide her feelings for Spiro and they are rather affectionate in front of us. This way we can learn what true love looks like and we can recognize it when we find it in our lives. I am grateful for her educational method. It is innovative and scientifically proven to be more effective than older-fashioned methods. My siblings and I are lucky to have her. She is being a fantastic mother, mastering the challenge of raising 4 children on her own”. “She is an honest woman. She has had no intimate partners since our father’s death more than 10 years ago. Spiro is her only one. Mother is very in love with him. She would never go with anybody else”, “Spiro is a marvelous partner for mother. He would never hurt her. He is the most loving, gentle, and respectful partner we could ever wish for mother. We are very happy he is part of our family”.
  * Stavros gets up: “you couldn’t see or hear much, yet you seem to think you know a lot”, “I know what I see in the house. I know the type of relationship my mother and Spiro have. It is based on reciprocal love and respect. Mother would not consent to anything with Hugh. I know what a consenting woman looks like. When I looked out of my bedroom’s window it was very clear that mother was being assaulted and I am grateful that Spiro was there to prevent her rape. He is also being exceptionally supportive with her PTS. You have just witnessed how lovingly he can stop her panic attacks. She is not recovered yet, but she has made remarkable progress thanks to the most loving and supporting partner we could ever hope for. I am certain Spiro would never use any violence on her. We feel very lucky our mother has Spiro in her life. He is a wonderful man and the pile of lies you and Hugh have made up on them is simply disgraceful. As a certified professional lawyer, you should be ashamed of yourself, Stavro”, he looks at Hugh directly: “and you, Hugh, should be punished for the assault, the harm you did to mother, and the lies you just said in this court under oath”. The audience applauds. The judge intervenes: “order, order”, Stavros shouts: “objection!”, the judge nods: “granted, remove the last two sentences from the record”, “I have no further questions, your honor”.

  * Alecko gets up: “I now call Mrs. Dimitra Halikiopoulou”. Dimitra walks to the stand and swears on a photo of her children. “Mrs. Halikiopoulou, you have been married to Mr. Halikiopoulos for almost 10 years, correct?”, “yes”, “is yours a happy marriage?”, “we have been separated for more than 6 months. Spiro lives with Louisa and I live with Christo”, “how about before, was your marriage happy?”, “not really, we were never in love, we married because I was expecting”, “so your marriage was unhappy?”, “I cannot honestly say I was unhappy with Spiro, just not happy. Spiro is a very nice and respectful husband”, “was he ever violent?”, “never, he is a very gentle partner”, “not even when you disagreed on things?”, “not even”, “how about in intimacy?”, “he was never violent then either”, “was he a loving intimate partner?”, “he was always nice and respectful. Loving requires love and we were not in love”, “so you were not in love with him either?”, “no”.
  * “Where you upset when he left you to move in with Mrs. Durrell?”, “the answer to your question is ‘no’, but it is not properly formulated”, “why not?”, “I left him before he left me. I took the children and went to my mother’s in Athens for almost three months”, “why?”, “I knew our marriage was loveless and I wanted time to think about that”, “did you write to your husband while you were in Athens?”, “no, I wanted to think by myself”, “did you know he was in love with Mrs. Durrell then?”, “I thought he may be, but that did not really matter. I wanted to understand myself more than him at that point. I knew he was being loyal”, “are you sure?”, “yes, he is a loyal man. He did not sleep with Louisa until after I returned from Athens. He told me he was in love with her before leaving our house and moving in with her”, “were you upset?”, “not really, the next day I told him that I had had an affair with my ex-boyfriend Christo in Athens”, “so you abandoned the family home and had an affair before your husband left you and slept with Mrs. Durrell?”, “yes”, “how well do you know Mrs. Durrell?”, “fairly well, Christo and I visit them often and she comes by our house regularly”, “how would you assess her person and relationship with your husband?”, “she is a very nice and honest woman. And she is being a wonderful step-mother to my children. She is in love with Spiro and he is in love with her. She would never go with anyone else. I am sure of that”.
  * Stavros gets up: “you said your husband is loyal, but he was in love with another woman for quite some time, yet he was sleeping with you. Is that loyal?”, “that wouldn’t be, but it is not an accurate description of our relationship. In the past two and a half years of our marriage we were never intimate”, “because you did not want it?”, “no, because _he_ did not want it”, “what did you think of that?”, “I suspected it was because of Louisa”, “were you upset about that?”, “yes and no. I knew that would drive us apart eventually. That prospect worried me mostly because of our children, but I cannot say I was hurt because we were not in love in the first place. And I respect that he would not be intimate with me if he loved someone else. It is more honest and less humiliating than the contrary, really”.
  * “You said you are now living with your ex-boyfriend?”, “yes, Christo”, “and the two of you are not married”, “I am still married to Spiro”, “so you also live in sin”, “we are in love. It doesn’t feel sinful”, “if that is your judgment of your own sinful relationship, what are we to make of your judgment of your husband’s current sinful relationship with Mrs. Durrell?”, Alecko shouts: “objection!”, “granted”, “I have no other questions, your honor”.

  * Alecko gets up: “I now call Dr. Petridis to testify”. Dr. Petridis confirms the testimony by Dr. Mavrodaki and the diagnosis of PTS for Louisa. “As you can read in my medical report based on the visit I conducted on the day of the assault, I am certain Louisa had received physical violence about half an hour prior to my visit. Her wounds were very fresh and she was clearly traumatized”. "I can exclude she could have received the trauma earlier, then consent to intercourse with Hugh. She was in no condition to do that. She was shaking very badly and she was quite traumatized”. “I also confirm Dr. Mavrodaki’s assessment of her and Spiro’s relationship. They are very in love. He would never hurt her and it is clear that she is not the victim of domestic violence. Rather, she is receiving remarkable support from him throughout her dealing with PTS. You have just witnessed one example of that. He is making an enormous difference and he should be commended for that”. “Louisa is also very attached to Spiro and I am certain that she would not consent to intercourse or marriage with anyone else”.

  * Stavros gets up: “can you be certain of the timing of the injuries?”, “plus or minus 15 minutes”, “so you cannot exclude they could have been caused by an earlier attack by Mr. Halikiopoulos?”, “I actually feel like excluding that. It seems highly unlikely. The injuries were very, very, recent. The abrasions were still bleeding. The location and freshness of the abrasions and contusions are consistent with the victim’s and witnesses’ testimonies”.
  * From your report it seems the time of your visit was delayed. Why did you not visit Mrs. Durrell immediately when you arrived at the house?”, “because the police had to interview her first”, “did you only wait for that?”, the doctor thinks a bit: “no, I also waited for Spiro’s interview”, “why?”, “so that he could be at the visit”, Stavros looks surprised: “who was present when you visited Mrs. Durrell?”, “my wife Florence and Spiro”, “so Mr. Halikiopoulos was in the room?”, “yes”, “why? Did you ask him to be there?”, “I did not, Louisa asked for him to be present”, “is that common for such personal visits?”, “it depends on the woman. Some want their partners, some don’t. I just respect their choice”, “did Mr. Halikiopoulos volunteer to be present?”, “no, he was being interviewed by the police when Louisa asked for him to be at the visit”, “why did you accept that? Mr. Halikiopoulos is not Mrs. Durrell’s legitimate husband, after all”, “that is not for me to judge. I just agreed to her request”, “were you surprised by her request?”, “not really”, “why not?”, “I knew they were a couple”.
  * “During your visit did you ask questions of personal nature to Mrs. Durrell?”, “I mostly visited her. I did not ask many questions. That is the job of the police”, “but you did ask some questions”, “I did”, “were those questions of personal nature?”, “yes”, “did Mr. Halikiopoulos answer for Mrs. Durrell?”, the doctor thinks a bit: “once or twice, maybe”, “what specific questions did Mr. Halikiopoulos answer for Mrs. Durrell?”, “I can’t tell you, due to patient-doctor confidentiality”, “were those questions that Mrs. Durrell may have answered differently had Mr. Halikiopoulos not answered for her?”, the doctor thinks some more: “no, they were questions he could answer because he either knew the fact or they involved him personally”, “how about other questions you may have asked? Were there any answers Mrs. Durrell gave that might have been different had Mr. Halikiopoulos not been in the room?”, “I really did not ask that many questions. Louisa was very traumatized. I focused on visiting her, more than questioning her”, “from your professional point of view, can you exclude that with his presence Mr. Halikiopoulos may have directed the course of the visit and affected Mrs. Durrell’s responses?”, “he did, but not in the way you are implying”, “how, then?”, “he was very supportive and she clearly found comfort in having him by her during my visit”, Stavros sounds skeptical now: “can you give us examples of moments when she found such _comfort_?”, “I can’t, due to doctor-patient confidentiality, but there were many such moments throughout my visit”.
  * Stavros changes topic: “you, your wife Florence, and Mrs. Durrell are good friends, correct?”, “yes”, “such good friends that you’d lie for her?”, “no, I am an honest man. I wouldn’t lie under oath. And I certainly wouldn’t lie when expressing my professional medical opinion. That is rather insulting, really”, “I have no further questions, your honor”
  * The judge gets up: “unless there are other testimonies, I will now retire to my office to reach my decision”.

  * While the judge is away, Spiros and Louisa wait sitting at the table. He reaches with his arm and hugs her shoulders, she leans her head on his shoulder, looking tired. Spiros talks softly to her ear: “how are you feeling my love?”, she answers with low voice: “very tired, but I am hopeful. I think the judge will decide in our favor”, Alecko nods: “I would be very surprised of any other decisions. The testimonies were very strongly in your favor and the medical report, the police report, and the independent witness and victim reports collected on the day of the assault are very consistent with each other”. Louisa looks up at Spiros and speaks sweetly: “how are _you_ feeling, love?”, he answers with loving voice: “tired, but I am mostly worried about you. You look very drained, my love”, she is still leaning on his shoulder, his arm around her shoulders. With his other hand he gently caresses her face, looks at her lovingly, and kisses her forehead. She raises her head. She looks at him sweetly. They kiss softly. The audience is watching them. How can anyone doubt their love and their version of the story?
  * Hugh and Stavros are sitting at their table, waiting for the judge. Hugh is looking at Louisa. He can see how in love with Spiros she is. He had no idea their relationship had matured so much while he was in hospital. He knows this is not going well for him.


	17. The future is bright today

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the outcome of the trial, several life-changing events. All of them good. :-)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mostly fluff today. Most needed after some (probably too many) dark chapters. :-)

  * The judge returns. Everybody stands up. Louisa and Spiros are holding hands. “My verdict is that the case against Mr. Halikiopoulos has no ground and is thus dismissed”. Louisa and Spiro smile, look at each other, and squeeze hands. The judge continues: “instead, Mr. Jarvis’ case stands and this court convicts him of sexual assault on Mrs. Durrell and false testimony under oath. This court condemns him to 8-year imprisonment, either in Greece, or in his homeland of England, were the British government to request his extradition. This court also mandates that Mr. Jarvis shall not come to less than 500 meters from Mrs. Durrell for at least 10 years past his release from imprisonment. If that was to happen by accident, he will need to remove himself from the place as quickly as reasonably possible. The protective status order applies internationally and it is to be reassessed at the end of the 10 years. This court also condemns Mr. Jarvis to the payment of all court and lawyer expenses as well as all medical costs for the treatment of Mrs. Durrell’s Injuries and PTS, until complete recovery, as determined by her psychiatrist or other medical practitioner. Mr. Jarvis is also to pay the sum of 5,000 British Pounds for physical and moral damage inflicted on Mrs. Durrell. The payments shall be completed within 10 days from today, as a deposit to Mrs. Durrell’s bank account. This court is now dismissed”.
  * Two policemen handcuff and take Hugh away. As he is leaving, Louisa looks into his eyes for the first time, and speaks with strong voice: “never to see you again, Hugh”.
  * The audience claps. They are clearly happy with the verdict. Spiros and Louisa hug and kiss. Her children also hug each other then go up to them and hug them. Dimitra too, goes up to them and hugs them both. Dr. Mavrodaki and Dr. Petridis walk up to them. Louisa smiles: “thank you so much for your testimonies, doctors, and for coming out on your profession to help us, Dr. Mavrodaki”. The two women hug, “I couldn’t let him bash you and Spiro the way he was. It was just wrong!”. Florence hugs Spiros and Louisa too: “nice job, Louisa, I am so proud of you and very happy with the sentence”. Sven, Theo and Maria, Irene, Lugaretzia, Christos, Dennis, and several other friends also congratulate them for the positive outcome of the trial. Galini approaches them too: “congratulations!”, Louisa smiles: “thank you Galini!”, Gerry looks at her sweetly: “thanks for being here, Galini”, then they exchange a shy kiss. Louisa and Spiros look at each other and smile sweetly. Spiros’ parents approach them too, both smiling: “syncharitiria!”, Louisa smiles at them: “efcharisto’ poly’!”, her and Spiros’ mother hug.

(Trnsl. Efcharisto’ = thank you; poly = very; syncharitiria = congratulations)

  * The judge is watching smiling: “Mrs. Durrell, Mr. Halikiopoulos, may I have a word?”, Spiros and Louisa approach the judge’s stand “I just wanted to express how sorry I am that you had to go through this, Mrs. Durrell. I am sure answering all of those personal questions, listening to all of those lies, and re-living that traumatic event was not easy”, she nods with a tight smile: “thank you Judge, it was not easy but I am happy with the outcome. Thank you for a fair sentence”, “I also wanted to mention that I truly admire how tightly close your family is. Your children clearly have great parental guidance in their life”, Louisa looks surprised, the judge smiles: “my wife and I have adolescent children. I feel I may need to contact you for advice on dealing with them, Mrs. Durrell”, she chuckles: “my advice? I am just lucky I have such nice children”, Spiros looks at her sweetly: “and they have a fantastic mom”, he hugs her.
  * “I hope your PTS will recover soon, Mrs. Durrell. You sure have a very supporting partner”, she looks at Spiro with a sweet smile: “I do”, “I know, in this court I have seen many women with PTS. Mr. Halikiopoulos’ intervention earlier was very effective. It was clearly well practiced and very, very, caring”, he smiles: “thank you judge, yes, I have stopped hundreds of those attacks by now and I’d do it all over for Louisa”, he looks at her lovingly, “I can see that and I am not surprised: I have seen the two of you together many times, including at the St. Spyridon feast. You are clearly very attached. I don’t know how Stavro could even think of building a story that denied that”, Louisa smiles: “I am happy that you could see right through those lies, Judge. Listening to them was very upsetting”, “I can imagine and I am sorry about that”, then he smiles: “one other thing I wanted to mention: I have read your article in the British paper, philosopher Halikiopoulos”, Spiros blushes: “that was Larry’s poetic license, Judge. I am no philosopher, really”, “well, I am not a philosopher either but I did like your philosophy of love inspired by Mrs. Durrell. I feel it applies very well to my own marriage. I gave your article to my wife to read and she agreed with me”. They all smile, “you and your wife should come over for tea at some point”, the judge smiles too: “we’d love to, Mrs. Durrell”, “very well, I will call about it soon”. Louisa and Spiros walk back towards her children and their friends.

  * The judge turns towards the people still gathered there: “Alecko, and Mrs. and Mr. Halikiopoulos, may I have a word with you now, please?”. Spiros asks Dr. Mavrodaki, Dr. Petridis, Florence, and the children to stay near Louisa to ensure that she receives no accidental contacts from men. While Spiros leaves, Dr. Petridis smiles at Louisa: “how are you feeling? You seem tired”, “I am, this was very difficult”, “would you like me to give you something that will help you sleep tonight?”, “that may be a good idea, doctor”, Dr. Mavrodaki nods. She agrees with the idea too. Dr. Petridis nods: “if you or someone from your family can come by my office later today I am happy to prepare a bottle for you. You can just have it by your bed and decide later whether or not you need it, depending on how you feel this evening”. Dr. Mavrodaki agrees: “it may also be a good idea that you and Spiro come for a session even this evening, at our usual time”, Louisa looks moved: “thank you both, doctors, you are being so nice and supportive!”
  * Meanwhile, Alecko, Spiros, and Dimitra approach the judge, “please follow me to my office”, once there: “Mrs. and Mr. Halikiopoulos, I am canceling your divorce hearing which is scheduled for tomorrow. I can use today’s testimonies for my decision. There is no need for you to repeat them. Mrs. Halikiopoulou, you have left the family home and had an affair with another man. That is ground for granting a divorce in this country. However, there are mitigating circumstance to your behavior. A long loveless marriage and Mr. Halikiopoulos’ attachment to Mrs. Durrell. Hence, I am assigning shared custody of your two children, Mihalis and Katherini Halikiopoulos. That means they will spend equal time with each of you and all decisions about their upbringing will be joined. Similarly, all expenses related to your children shall be shared between the two of you, until they reach the major age of 21. I won’t at this point mandate specific visiting schedules. I sense the two of you can reach an agreement that works best for all. If needed, we can meet again to discuss those details, upon request from either of you”, Spiros makes a big happy smile: “thank you very much judge. I am sure Dimitra and I will agree on our children. We both have their best interest at heart”, Dimitra smiles too: “yes, I am sure that will not be a problem”, “I thought so. The two of you are free now. I wish you luck with your current relationships”, Spiros pulls the jeweler’s box out of his pocket: “I don’t plan to be ‘free’ for long”, the Judge smiles: “I am sure Mrs. Durrell will be very happy to accept your proposal. And I know Greek-English couples can be very happy. As you probably know, my lovely wife Georgia is Greek…”, “yes judge, I knew that, and I am sure Mrs. and Dr. Petridis would agree with you. They seem very happy too”, the judge nods: “they are, and so are other mixed couples I know. I am sure you and Mrs. Durrell will add to that happy list”. They all smile as they sign the many copies of the divorce record, one each for Dimitra and Spiros, one for Alecko, and three for the court. Dimitra and Spiros hug, “no hard feelings, Spiro, I wish you happiness with Louisa”, “and I wish you happiness with Christo, you deserve it”.
  * Dimitra returns to Christos and communicates the good news. Christos looks very happy: “this is marvelous, agapi mou*!”, they hug and kiss, “remember, though, don’t let it out with Louisa. Spiro wants to propose to her and he wants it to be a surprise”, “of course I won’t spoil the surprise”, little does Dimitra know that Christos has the same surprise waiting for her at home.

(*trnsl: my love) 

  * Spiros returns to Louisa, her children, and their friends, all of whom are celebrating the good outcome. Louisa and Spiros hug and kiss very publicly. Larry screams: “sinners!”, Gerry joins him: “gourounia*!” They all laugh.

(*trnsl: pigs)

  * The Durrells and Spiros walk back towards the car. Spiros and Louisa walk arm in arm, “how are you feeling love?”, “very tired”, she looks more upset than tired, “Larry, would you mind driving? I want to snuggle up with your mother on the back seat”, “of course, lovebirds, you have earned it today!”. The children can also see that their mother is upset, so they are grateful that Spiros is there for her. As they are driving through Corfu Town many people cheer. The rumor of the trial has already spread. Spiros is hugging Louisa on the back seat, next to Leslie. Margot and Gerry are on the front seat, by Larry who is driving.
  * Louisa looks rather upset. Spiros hugs her lovingly: “my love, you look upset…”, “I am. The more I think about the trial the angrier I get”, “but we won…”, “even so, it was all a huge farce. None of those questions made any sense. I said no to Hugh. He assaulted me. That’s a crime. Why would it matter whether or not I’d have other men? How would that be different if I was not in a stable relationship? If I was not faithful to you? If I had many men? Would that mean that any bastard can come by and rape me? And, of course, it wouldn’t matter whether or not the man instead conducts a ‘honorable’ life. It’s only for women that it matters”, “you are absolutely correct, my love. Those questions carried a huge bias against women. I am sorry about that”, “and why would they need to know what my children do or do not see in the privacy of our own house? Why did they even need to ask those questions to my children?”, she is getting more and more upset now, “and why would they need to know whether or not and how often me and you have sex, or whether or not you had it with your wife? How is that relevant? It made no sense at all!”, Spiros hugs her. She is so correct... “and what was that huge crowd of nosey people? Why do they all want to know about our own private business? What is this morbid curiosity? As they are reaching the edge of town, she stands up in the car holding his hands and screams: “come here Spiro, let’s make love right now, let’s show them all, if that is what they want to see!” Spiros holds her hands and gently pulls her down. He smiles sweetly: “as tempting as your proposition may be, my love, I’d advise that you reconsider the idea. You may regret it later”. The children smile.
  * She sits down crying. He hugs her: “I am so sorry my love. There is nothing in what you said I disagree with. You are absolutely correct. It was a huge and unfair farce. I wish I could change how our society works”. She hugs him: “I am sorry I’ve lost it, love. You are such a wonderful partner. It is not your fault if society is like that. Days like today make me appreciate it even more how lucky I am to have you”. They kiss. They hug tightly. She leans with her head in the crook of his neck. By the time they get home she looks much better. 

  * At home, Spiros steers Louisa upstairs to their bedroom. You still look tired, my love, why don’t you rest a little? I will take care of preparing lunch. She lays down. He sits by her and kisses and caresses her until she dozes off. Then, he quietly gets up and goes downstairs. He makes Greek food for lunch. Bifteki with mixed salad, feta cheese, olives, and melitzanosalada. After a nap Louisa goes downstairs, looking much better. Spiros is frying the biftekia and slicing a loaf of bread: “perfect timing love, lunch is ready, the children and Lugaretzia have set up the table on the veranda. We thought we should take advantage of this unusually warm weather. Why don’t you join them? I will be there with food in 5 minutes”. She approaches him and hugs him from behind: “that smells very good, love, thank you”, he turns towards her, she kisses him.
  * During lunch, Spiro takes the lead of the conversation: “in the car Louisa has clearly laid out what was wrong with today’s trial. Stavros’ interrogations carried an awful sexist connotation. I think we can all agree with that”, they all nod, “still, let’s play a game now. I’d like each of you to say one good thing you can find in today’s trial”, Larry smiles: “very good idea Spiro, I will begin if you don’t mind: ”I think the most brilliant moment was when Gerry called Stavro a pig and he did it so well in Greek!”, they all laugh, Spiros chuckles: “yes, that was excellent, Gerry, and so very deserved!”, Spiros looks at Gerry and winks: “and thank you for not reporting all of the conversation Louisa and I had before Hugh arrived”, “you mean the part on mother agreeing to take an extra-long bath with you?”, both Spiros and Louisa blush now, “yea, I thought that would not help. It would have made Mr. Gourouni way too happy”. They all laugh. Spiros continues: “Leslie, in your view, what was positive today?”, “I am very happy that Hugh received a hefty sentence. Way too often men get away with very mild sentences for sexual assault. This sentence sets a great precedent”, they all nod, Louisa agrees: “yes indeed!”. Margot continues: “I loved it when Larry told them all that their way of bringing up children is wrong, scientifically so”, they all laugh. Gerry smiles: “and I was happy to see that so many friends turned up to support us through this. Dimitra, Dr. Petridis and the countess were really helpful with their testimonies, and …even Galini was there”, he blushes, they all smile sweetly, Louisa agrees: “yes it was very nice of her and the others”.
  * Spiros looks at her sweetly: “Louisa, your turn to say something positive about today, “you go first, love”, “very well, for me it is easy. I was very pleased and very moved by how all of you…”, he looks at each of the children, “…_all_ of you said very nice things about me being part of your family. It made me feel very welcome. Thank you. I love you all…”, he is clearly moved. He wipes a tear as he smiles at them. Margot gets up and hugs him: “we all love you, Spiro, of course you knew it already, didn’t you?”, he hugs her back: “I think I did, but it was so nice to hear it from each of you”, “Gerry smiles: “and under oath!”, they all smile. “Your turn now, my love. We have heard the bad, let’s hear some good even from you, now”, she is pensive for a bit, then she speaks with soft voice: “I think we came out of this stronger as a family. Despite the several disagreements, and grumpiness we can all experience about each other, I think that today has shown how strongly bonded we all are. This whole experience, not just today’s trial, has got the best out of each of you and has made me feel so loved and supported. I feel extremely lucky I have you. I love you all”. The children all get up and hug her now. A big crowd. She is moved… after a while she laughs: “enough, now, I need air to breath!”. They all laugh and sit back. Louisa looks at Spiros sweetly: “thank you love, this was a good exercise at finding the good in negative situations. Larry agrees: “excellent, it turns out there was plenty of good even in this, who would have thought…”.
  * Spiros smiles: “Larry, Leslie, can I ask one of you for a favor?”, Leslie replies: “of course, Spiro”, “could you go and pick up my children and bring them here for the afternoon?”, Louisa adds: “and also stop by Dr. Petridis’ house to pick up a bottle he has prepared for me?”. Leslie smiles: “happy to”. He grabs the car keys and leaves. Meanwhile they all clean up the table and do the dishes.

  * Leslie returns from town with Mihalis and Katherini. Spiros gets up: “now that we are all here I’d ask all of you to sit at the table. Even you Lugaretzia. Love, you should sit here, please”, he steers Louisa to sit on a chair near him. He kisses her sweetly. Louisa looks puzzled and so does Lugaretzia. The 6 children smile. They think they know where Spiros is going with this. Spiros sits near Louisa. He takes an envelope out of his pocket and hands it to her: “love, do you remember that after the trial the judge called Dimitra, Alecko, and me to his office?”, “yes, what was that about?”, he smiles: “this, please read it”. The document is in Greek. Louisa struggles to read it. Spiros points at two names. Can you read those? “those are yours and Dimitra’s names”, “yes, and this word, here…”. Louisa reads it slowly: “diazýgio...” Lugaretzia exclaims: “Panagia mou*!”, “sorry I don’t understand this word, love”, “it means ‘divorce’. Based on today’s testimonies, the judge has granted Dimitra and me the divorce we had applied for”. Louisa, looks up from the paper.

(*trnsl: my Lady) 

  * In that moment, Spiros drops on his knee. He has an open jeweler’s box in his hand, with an engagement ring. He speaks with very sweet voice: “Louisa, my love, would you make me the happiest man on earth by accepting to be my wife?”. He looks up at her with very deeply loving eyes. She looks stunned, he smiles sweetly: “I imagined you would want to inquire with the children before answering, so I have done it already, love, here…”, he hands her another envelope. She is crying now. Happy tears. She opens the envelope and pulls out a sheet of paper: ‘_say yes, mother!!! Signed by Margot, Larry, Gerry and Leslie; pes nai Louisa!! Ypogegrammeno apo* Mihalis kai Katherini_’, she looks around at all of them. She is really crying now. Lugaretzia is crying too. The children are all smiling sweetly. Spiros is still on his knee. He reaches for Louisa’s cheek and gently wipes a tear: “is that a yes, my love?”, she nods, smiling very sweetly, looking down at him with her eyes full of love, still crying: “yes, I will be very happy to marry you, Spiro, my love”. He smiles happily and puts the ring on her finger. He gets up, pulls her up from her chair and wraps her in his arms. She hugs him. With very, very, sweet voice, he whispers: “I love you”, still crying, she answers with very sweet voice too: “I love you”. They kiss. A very long love kiss. Gerry smirks: “let’s call Mr. Gourouni* and show him what she looks like when she is consenting…”, the children all smile. Indeed.

(*trnsl: signed by Mihalis and Katherini; gourouni = pig)

  * The children all get up and hug the happy couple. Larry speaks first: “congratulations, lovebirds, this seems such a natural milestone for you!”, Mihalis agrees: “congratulations, I am happy you said yes Louisa!”, Leslie smiles: “yes congratulations. I am so happy for you!”, Katherini is very excited: “congratulations bampaka and Louisa, we need to plan the party next!”, Lugaretzia, is still crying: “sygharitiria! I ora i kali’*!”, Margot is crying too now: “this is so romantic, congratulations, lovers!”, Gerry adds: “now you really are like a pair of sandhill cranes, inseparable for life. Congratulations!”.

(*trnsl: congratulations! May your time be good!)

  * Larry smiles: “excellent, and now it’s time to give you privacy to ‘celebrate’ properly. If I can have your car keys, we can clear the place for a few hours. I can drive Lugaretzia, Mihali, and Katherini home and the 4 of us to the bar in town, for a few celebratory drinks”. Spiros smiles and hands him the keys: “thank you Larry, I appreciate the idea, but we will need the car back before 5:30. We have a session with Dr. Mavrodaki then”, “not a problem Spiro”. Lugaretzia mutters: “these two need no extra privacy now. I know it, I wash their sheets…”. Louisa blushes. They all laugh. As they are driving away, the children look back. Louisa and Spiros are kissing… Margot smiles sweetly: “definitely consenting…”, Katherini asks: “what does that mean, Margot?”, “that our mother agrees to kiss your bampaka”, “of course she does, we all know that she loves him!”, Leslie agrees: “indeed we do, Katherini”. They all smile as they drive away as a happy family.

  * In town, Larry drops Lugaretzia off first, then he drives to Dimitra and Christo’s place. When he gets there, the door is closed and all is quiet. Larry leaves the others in the car: “wait here while I check whether they are at home”. He knocks on the door. After a bit, Christos opens it. He is wearing a robe. They have clearly interrupted something… “so sorry Christos. You and Dimitra can obviously use some privacy right now. Not a problem, we can take the children to the town’s square. They can play with their friends and we can keep an eye on them while we have a drink or two”, “thank you Larry, I’d appreciate that!”, he smirks: “don’t mention it”, “…you know, I have just proposed to Dimitra and she said yes…”, “congratulations, that is great news!”, he winks: “of course you need to ‘celebrate’ now. You can count on a couple of hours, Christo”, “thanks, I own you one, my friend”. Larry smiles and walks away: “Mihali, Katherini, your mother and Christos are busy right now. Let’s all go and have some fun together”, Katherini jumps in the car: “yea!!”. Mihalis makes a funny smirk...

  * Later, they return the children. Mihalis and Katherini run to the back room. Margot hugs Dimitra: “congratulations, Dimitra, I am happy for you. Your ring looks so nice!”, “thank you Margot”, the other Durrell children smile: “yea, congratulations on the big news folks. You know, we left mother and Spiro at home, ‘celebrating’ the same news”, Dimitra smiles: “earlier at the trial Spiro said he intended to propose. I assume your mother said yes”, “Leslie nods: “of course!”, Dimitra is happy: “that’s so nice! Would you like to come in for coffee?”, Larry smiles: “we’d love to, but we need to return the car. Mother and Spiro need it to go to Dr. Mavrodaki later”. 
  * Back home, Larry hands the car keys: “I hope you have ‘celebrated’ your engagement, lovebirds. We know Dimitra and Christos have ‘celebrated’ theirs. They were clearly ‘busy’ when we got there so the 6 of us had lots of fun playing in the platia* while you two happy couples enjoyed your privacy”, Louisa blushes: “it is so nice that Christo has proposed today too!”, Spiros agrees: “yes, it is very nice”, he smiles: “I thought he would. Christo and I came across each other at Kiriako’s jeweler store when we bought the rings”, “let’s leave early, Spiro, so that we can stop by on our way to the doctor and congratulate them”.

(*trnsl: platia = town square)

  * Dimitra and Christos are very happy and so are Spiros and Louisa. They all congratulate each other “we should shop for our wedding dresses together, Louisa”, “nice idea, Dimitra!”, “would Tuesday afternoon work for you?”, “it does, as long as the men can look after the children”, Spiros smiles: “of course, we can plan some fun activities together”. They have coffee then Louisa and Spiros leave.

  * Dennis lets them into the living room for their usual tea. Dr. Mavrodaki notices the ring right away: “it seems the victory at the trial is not all that there is to celebrate today. Congratulations my dears, I am so happy for you! Dennis, can you please open a bottle of champagne?”. She is holding Louisa’s hand: “that is one nice looking ring, good choice Spiro!”, “thank you doctor, I chose that diamond because its blue undertone matches the spark in her lovely blue eyes”, she smiles sweetly: “I like it very much too, love”. Dennis pours the Champagne, “you should pour some for yourself too, Dennis. Louisa and Spiro just got engaged. You should celebrate with us”, “thank you countess”, “to a very happy marriage and a long life together!!”, “thank you countess!”, they toast, “cheers!!!”, “so have you thought of a date for your wedding yet?”, Louisa smiles: “not really, we haven’t talked about any details yet”, “it may also depend upon the availability of the church, if the priest agrees to marry us. They can be difficult with divorcees”, “I will be happy to marry you anywhere, love”, “I know, it’s us that matter, not where we do it, but for my parents and friends it’d be nicer if it could be in church. You know, they are rather conservative”, “of course, I understand, love. Maybe Pavlo can put in a good word for us, “good idea!”, “and I am happy to put in a good word too, if needed. I do know the clergy in town”, “thank you countess”.
  * They enjoy this light conversation. It feels like before their tea gatherings became medical sessions, “I did not realize you and Dimitra had applied for divorce, Spiro, it must have not come up in our conversations”, he smiles: “it was intentional countess, I kept it a secret because I wanted to surprise Louisa with my proposal”, “oh, that is very sweet, Spiro, so you had no idea this was coming, Louisa!”, “not at all! I thought Greece did not allow divorce and we were destined to live ‘in sin’ forever”, he looks at her sweetly: “well, I am happy you were prepared to do that, love”, they kiss. The countess smiles: “so how did you get a divorce then?”, “there is only one circumstance that divorce is allowed in Greece: for abandonment of the family home and conjugal infidelity by the wife”, Louisa seems surprised: “so not by the husband?”, “no that’s considered acceptable in Greece and no reason for divorce. I know, it’s very unfair. Dimitra had to take all the blame”, “oh, I will have to thank her for that, then!”, the countess nods: “that’s actually a common law throughout Europe, including France, I am afraid. Only in England man adultery can be ground for divorce, but it has to be proved. So when was your divorce finalized?”, “when the judge called Dimitra and me to his office earlier he told us that he was canceling tomorrow’s hearing because he was granting us a divorce based on today’s testimonies. It was like killing two doves with one stone…”, Louisa smiles sweetly: “it’s two birds, my love, not doves”, they laugh, “we have a similar idiom in Greek, just with doves, instead of any two birds. You know, we, Greeks, are more precise with our words”, Louisa chuckles: “…still a gruesome idiom. It sounds like something Leslie could do with his guns”, they all laugh, “instead, we are not as gruesome. We just strike twice with one stone: faire d'une pierre deux coups”, Louisa smiles: “the French are always gentler, we know that”, they laugh again. The countess looks at Spiros: “so, you got your divorce today and proposed right away, eh?”, “I couldn’t bear being ‘free’ for too long, countess”, they laugh, “it means you already had the ring!”, Louisa smiles sweetly: “…and that note from the children…”, “note?”, Louisa takes it out of her purse and hands it to her. As the countess is reading it, Spiros explains: “I knew Louisa would want to check with the children first, so I anticipated her”, handing the note back to Louisa, the countess smiles: “this is so sweet Spiro. You have put lots of planning and effort into this”, “of course!”, the countess nods: “why am I not surprised?”, they laugh again. Spiros and Louisa look at each other with loving eyes. They kiss.

  * “I was going to ask you how you were doing after today’s trial, Louisa, but you look so happy that I am hesitant to spoil that”, Louisa sounds more serious now: “I am happy now, but I wasn’t very happy earlier”, “you seemed very drained after the trial”, “yes I was really upset about the whole thing, especially because it was so sexist. All of those questions on our private life were awful”, “I couldn’t agree with you more, Louisa. Stavro was trying to demolish your reputation, as if that could be a justification for sexual assault”, “I am very sorry ladies. Our Greek society still has a long way to go before women are treated fairly”, the countess smiles at him: “you don’t need to apologize for your country, Spiro. It’s not just Greece. It’s like this everywhere. It would not have been any different in France”, “or England…”. “are you feeling better now Louisa?”, she smiles: “I am. When we got back I had a little nap, then over lunch Spiro had us do a re-evaluation game where we each had to say something positive about the trial. It turns out there was more good in this experience than I would have thought”, “you know, doctor, I applied what you have taught me to change my own mood when I am down”, she smiles: “nice job Spiro, you’d make a good psychiatrist”, he makes a funny smile: “and steal your job, doctor?”. They laugh again. Louisa smiles sweetly: “then Spiro proposed…”, “and she has had that lovely smile on her face since”, she looks at him with loving eyes: “so have you, love”, he smiles sweetly: “I know…”. They gaze into each other’s eyes deeply, then they kiss. The countess smiles: “you two are doing so well, I am afraid I won’t need to see you for therapy anymore”, he makes a big smile at her: “we’d be happy to see you as friends, countess”, “I’d like that!”, Louisa smiles: “maybe you can help us with our wedding plans”, “I’d be happy to, my friend”.
  * “Let’s do a bit of desensitization, now… Dennis!”, he enters the room: “yes countess”, “can you please walk up to Louisa and touch her arm?”, he does and she has a rather strong shiver, “step back, Dennis, please”, he removes his arm and moves away, Louisa stops shivering, “don’t forget to look at Dennis and remind yourself that this is safe. Dennis would never hurt you”, “of course not!”, she smiles at him: “I know, sorry if I respond to your touch like that Dennis”, he smiles too: “not a problem Mrs. Durrell, I understand”. Dr. Mavrodaki nods: “Let’s try again, Dennis, slowly and carefully, please”, Dennis approaches Louisa again and reaches for her arm. This time she has a smaller and shorter lasting shiver, he holds his position until she relaxes, “much better, nice job Louisa. Clearly there is still work for you to do with men, especially with contacts initiated by them, but you are improving”, “I hope so, doctor, I so look forward to the day that I am back to be my old self”, Spiros smirks: “old? My love, I never thought I’d hear you call yourself ‘old’”, she frowns and answers with stern voice: “I did not, it’s just an expression!”, he smiles at her teasingly: “I know… I was just pulling your leg and I have obviously touched a nerve…”, she gently slaps him. They all laugh.

  * Since Louisa has not had any attacks for a few days, the next day Spiros resumes his work as a taxi driver. As he is leaving the house him and Louisa hug: “have a good day my love, I will miss you, you know, I got used to being always with you and I must say I liked that aspect of your PTS”, she smiles sweetly: “I will miss you too. I also loved having you always by my side”. They kiss. Spiros drives the siblings to town, then he goes to the ferry and waits for clients. That morning Larry gets a lift to town too. He says he has some errands to do. Later, Louisa walks to town and meets up with Spiros. They walk to his parents’ house together. The Halikiopoulos seem perplexed at the news of the divorce, but then they are very happy to learn the news of their engagement. Spiros’ mother hugs Louisa: “ime charoumeni pou tha iste i nyfi mou, Louisa”, Louisa smiles: “kai ego ime poly’ eftychismeni”. Spiros’ father shakes Spiro’ hand and pats his back: “telika’ o gios mou, syncharitiria!”. Spiros hugs Louisa and looks at her very lovingly: “efcharisto’, mitera kai patera. Simera, ime o pio eftychismenos anthropos ston kosmo”, they kiss. Spiros’ mother picks up her hand: “ti oreo dachtylidi!”, Spiros looks at her with loving eyes: “i kopela pou to forai ine pio omorfi”, she blushes and looks at him sweetly: “efcharisto’, agapi mou”, he looks at her lovingly: “ta omorfa ble’ matia sou lampoun perissotero apo to diamanti, agapi mou”, they smile at each other sweetly, then they hug and kiss again. His parents smile.

(trnsl: I am very happy that you will be my bride, Louisa (note: in Greece the in laws refer to their daughter in law as their nyfi = bride); I am very happy too; finally, my son, congratulations; thank you mother and father. Today I am the happiest man in the world; what a beautiful ring!; the girl who wears it is more beautiful; thank you my love; your beautiful blue eyes shine more than the diamond, my love)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> P.S. I know that Keeley Hawes' eyes are not blue. However, Louisa Durrell's where. Gerald and Margaret Durrell mention that in their books. So I have kept that detail here (the blue diamond to match the spark in her blue eyes)


	18. Politics and Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Durrell can't ignore it anymore. A new war is looming and their paradise island is bound to be affected. They need to deal with that and make plans.  
Meanwhile wedding plans begin.  
Tea with new and old friends - oh so British.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's the end of 1938. Of course the war had to be on their mind at that point. So I've decided to introduce it in this story. I am not an expert (far from!) but I will try to make it true to the historic facts.  
Well, see what you think...

  * Back at the house Louisa, Spiros, and the Durrell siblings have lunch together. “today we told my parents”, “they were very happy”, Larry smirks: “finally your relationship is legitimate eh? I bet you that swinging Prue’s and Geoffrey’s position won’t be as easy”, they all laugh, Louisa nods: “that is one reason for I plan to tell them about our engagement only after we have decided a date for the wedding. I don’t really need all of the negativity in their letters”, Larry agrees: “a wise decision, mother. Speaking of that and since we are all here I’d like to have a serious conversation”, Spiros looks serious: “are you revoking your blessing to our marriage?”, he smiles: “of course not! I would never do that. It is something related to that, though. Have you two discussed a date for your wedding yet?”, “we are thinking of the next Spring (1939) because the weather will be nicer. Also, that will give our far away friends and family time to plan for a trip to Corfu, if they wish to attend”, “that is a lovely idea, mother, but it worries me”, “why?”, “because it involves a rather long time”, she makes a tight smile: “we have been living ‘in sin’ for months, a few more will make no difference”, Larry smiles: “of course not, mother”, he is serious again: “but politics may interfere. As we all know from the papers, another war is looking more and more likely. Hitler has essentially just occupied Austria and Sudetanland of Czechoslovakia, thus re-creating a huge single German-speaking country. Mussolini has given his blessing to this and him and Hitler are becoming closer and closer. I am sure it means they want to expand the Italian land too”, Louisa looks worried now: “that is concerning, Corfu is so close to Italy”, “the rumor is that they want to take Albania and Northern Greece, including Corfu”, Louisa frowns: “that is awful!”, Spiros nods: “yea, the Greek papers are writing the same thing and they think the rest of Greece will be next. Everybody is very worried”.
  * Larry continues: “mother, Spiro, what will you do if a war breaks out and Britain decides to evacuate all of its citizens from Corfu?”. Spiros answers immediately: “you should all leave and be safe”, “mother may not be able to, Spiro. By marrying you she will acquire Greek citizenship and automatically lose her British citizenship, because neither Greece nor Britain allow dual citizenship”, Spiros seems worried now: “would the British authorities refuse to evacuate her?”, “I don’t know. I suspect they’d let her return to England but there may be a special application for ex-citizens”, Louisa looks at Spiros with sad eyes: “I don’t want to leave you, love, the children can go back to England. I will stay here with you”, he looks at her sweetly: “it’d be too dangerous, Louisa. Because of its very strategic location in the Mediterranean, Corfu will likely be a key target. I would not want you to stay here in danger, my love”, she is upset now: “it’d be dangerous for you too! I can’t just go and leave you here! And I don’t want to be separated from you!”. They hug.
  * Margot intervenes: “I’d stay too, I don’t want to leave Corfu, I love our life here!”, Gerry nods: “me too!”, Leslie agrees: “me too”, Larry continues: “I love it here too, but it’d be too dangerous for us to stay. If a war is declared the Germans and the Italians may take all British nationals as prisoners of war… or worse. Some still unconfirmed killing of British citizens has been reported from Austria”, Margot looks sad now: “then we need to leave, but I will want to return after the war”, Leslie thinks for a bit, then: “couldn’t Spiro leave with us? If there is paperwork for mother to return to England, it may allow even her spouse”, he shakes his head: “but I couldn’t go and leave my children here”, she hugs him: “of course not, love, I will just stay here with you. If I know my children are safely in England I don’t mind taking the risk”, Gerry sounds upset now: “but I don’t want to leave you here in danger, mother”, he hugs her, Margot sounds upset too: “neither do I!”, she hugs her mother too, “I will stay and defend you with my guns, mother!”, she sounds moved now: “thank you, Leslie, but I’d want you to go to safety in England, not stay here and fight warships or air bombers with a gun, darling”.

  * Larry is listening quietly: “there may be a solution to this conundrum. Today I have talked to the British consul and the Greek authorities. It may be possible for Spiro, Mihali, Katherini, Dimitra and Christo, to acquire British citizenship. That will allow us all to go to England together”, Gerry asks with hopeful voice: “how?”, “when she marries Spiro, mother can renounce the Greek citizenship, thus retaining her British citizenship. Then Spiro can acquire British citizenship from his spouse and Katherini and Mihali can acquire it from their father. Then Dimitra can acquire British citizenship from her children. This is the iffy step. The consul was not sure it’s truly allowed but he says he is happy to sign the paperwork for the sake of the minors. Next, Christo can acquire British citizenship from his spouse. I have even inquired about your parents, Spiro. The consul says they cannot acquire British citizenship, but once in the United Kingdom you can apply for ‘family reunification’ and bring them over too. And Dimitra and Christos can do the same with their families, if they wish”. 
  * Spiros is holding Louisa’s hand in her lap now: “if we become English we’d all lose our Greek citizenships”, “yes but the Greek authorities say re-acquisition of Greek citizenship by ex-nationals is an easy process. You could do that after the war and return to Corfu or anywhere else in Greece, if you wish”, Spiros looks at Louisa and smiles softly: “this seems like a good way to bring everyone to safety. We will need to talk to Dimitra and Christo about this. Thank you for thinking about it and looking into it, Larry”, “you are welcome, Spiro. I have picked up all of the forms we’d need and I am happy to fill them with my typewriter. The main issue is time, though. It is a lot of paperwork we are talking about. Each step may take weeks and the war is looking closer and closer. The two of you need to get married much sooner than you are thinking”, Louisa looks sad: “it’d be such a pity if we couldn’t have any of our friends and family from oversea, though”, “I know, mother, I am sorry about that”, Spiros smiles at her sweetly: “well, there is a solution: we know that we need two ceremonies, one for the British and one for the Greek authorities. The current plan is to have the larger celebration with our Greek wedding. We thought we’d marry at the British consulate after that. Instead, why don’t we do our British wedding soon and have the larger Greek wedding later, love?”, she sounds unsure: “wouldn’t that spoil the Greek wedding, though? If everybody knows we are already married, it wouldn’t feel the same”, “we just won’t tell anyone about the British marriage”. Margot smiles, excited: “a secret marriage, how romantic!”, “it wouldn’t exactly be like eloping, darling”, they laugh, Larry smirks: “not quite, lovebirds, but it is a great idea. You should do it”.

  * In the afternoon, Louisa and Spiros visit Dimitra and Christos. After explaining Larry’s plan, Spiros concludes: “It’d allow us all to escape to England and avoid the worst of the war. We can return to Corfu after it”, Dimitra sounds thoughtful: “I agree it is a good way to take the children to safety. What do you think Christos?”, he makes a sad smile: “I don’t like the idea of leaving Greece but I agree it is a good way to be safe and together until the war ends”, Louisa smiles sadly too: “believe me, I don’t like the idea of leaving either. I love my life here, and I am not particularly fond of England, but we need to be realistic about the dangers of war”, Spiros looks at her lovingly: “yes, and if we are together we can be happy anywhere, my love”, she looks into his eyes sweetly: “I know, I will be happy if you are with me, love, even in dreary England…”. Spiros and Louisa kiss and so do Dimitra and Christos.
  * “It is settled, then. Spiro and I will talk to the British consul about getting married and I will prepare the paperwork to renounce the Greek citizenship”, Spiros nods: “we only ask that you please don’t tell anyone about our British wedding. We still want to have a big celebration with a Greek wedding next Spring and we don’t want to spoil that”, “of course, we understand Spiro, don’t worry we won’t tell anyone”, she smiles at her: “thank you Dimitra, I will see you on Tuesday to go and look at wedding dresses. We can meet up here then walk to the shop together”, “sounds good, Louisa”.

  * Louisa and Spiros then go and visit the Petridis. Florence opens the door: “Louisa, Spiro, what a nice surprise, do come in. I was just about to make tea for my husband and me. Come join us!”, as they sit down, Florence suddenly looks quite surprised: “is that an engagement ring?!?!?”, Spiros lovingly hugs Louisa: “yes, I’ve managed to truly trap my _catch_, Mrs. Petridi”, him and Louisa kiss, Florence smiles at them: “that is such wonderful news, congratulations”, “how is it possible? Did you and Dimitra obtain a divorce?”, Spiros smiles: “yes, doctor, we did and neither of us remained ‘free’ for long. Dimitra and Christo are also engaged now”, Dr. Petridis smiles: “excellent”, Florence makes a happy smile: “and we all know that British-Greek couples are the best!”, Dr. Petridis looks at his wife sweetly and kisses her: “indeed, they are, my dear”. Louisa smiles sweetly: “and you tease us about smooching!”, Florence blushes, Dr. Petridis laughs: “nothing wrong with that!”, Spiros kisses Louisa lovingly: “indeed!”, Louisa smiles: “Florence, would you be my bridesmaid?”, Florence chuckles: “me a maid?”, they both laugh, “maybe you prefer that I call you koumbara?”, “either way, I’d be happy to, my friend!”, Spiros smiles: “we are actually going to marry twice, by English and Greek rite”, Dr. Petridis nods: “so did we, after the Greek wedding we also married at the English consulate”, Louisa smiles: “that’s our plan too”, Spiros continues: “except that we want to do a ‘secret’ English wedding very soon, and wait for the nicer weather in the Spring for the larger Greek wedding”, Florence looks intrigued: “secret?”, Spiros smiles: “yes, so that we don’t spoil the Greek wedding. Would the two of you be available to be our witnesses for the English wedding?”, Florence makes a happy smile: “of course! I LOVE the idea of a secret wedding, it is so romantic!”, her husband looks at her sweetly: “you are such a romantic girl, my love”, “is that bad, dear?”, he smiles sweetly: “not at all!”, Dr. Petridis and Florence kiss again. They all smile sweetly.
  * Spiro is serious now: “which leads us to a different, less cheerful, topic we wanted to touch upon with you. Have you considered what you will do in case of war? One is looking more and more likely”, Dr. Petridis looks serious too, now: “we are very concerned, of course, but we don’t really have any plans yet, do you?”, Louisa nods: “yes, we will all acquire British citizenship and evacuate to England when the time comes”, Spiros explains: “that is the reason for we have decided to anticipate the English wedding. This way I can acquire British citizenship from Louisa and pass it on to my children”, “oh, we won’t be able to do that because I lost my British citizenship when we got married”, Louisa remarks: “you can probably re-acquire it, Florence, and pass it to your husband and child. You will be able to escape the worst of the war in England, then”, “would we lose our Greek citizenships?”, Spiros answers: “yes, doctor, but Larry has inquired about it. It is easy to re-acquire, once the war is over”, Florence smiles: “thank you for talking to us about it. We will need to look into this option. We will talk to the British consul tomorrow”, Louisa smiles: “so will we. We may meet up there then”.
  * Spiros moves to get up: “let’s go and talk to Theo and Maria about this idea, now. Maria is Anglo-Greek and she is the granddaughter of a former British consul. She may be able to acquire British citizenship too”. Theo and Maria are both very grateful for that precious information. They also congratulate Louisa and Spiros for their engagement, Maria smiles: “such great news. We are so happy for you”, Louisa smiles at the couple: “you and your daughter Alexia’ are all invited to our wedding, of course!”, Theo smiles: “we will be happy to be there, Louisa! When will it be?”, Spiros answers: “at some point in the Spring”, Louisa smiles: “would you like to be our parakoumbaroi*?”, Maria makes a happy smile: “of course!”. As agreed, Louisa and Spiros don’t tell them about their British wedding. There is no point spoiling the later Greek party.

(trnsl: part of the wedding party)

  * That evening, after dinner, the children and Spiros are playing a board game in the living room. Louisa is writing a letter at the kitchen table. Spiros walks in. Louisa smiles at him: “love, tomorrow morning can you bring this to the post office? I am inviting the British judge and his wife over for tea next Wednesday afternoon. It should be sent with same-day delivery”, “good idea my love. Of course I can do that”, Louisa smiles: “we should also call the Petridis and the Stephanides. I’d be nice if there were more than just 4 people”, “sure why not? That will make a good sample of happy couples”, he approaches her: “even though nobody is as happy as us”, she smiles at him sweetly: “that sounds like an exaggeration, my romantic”, he looks at her lovingly: “that’s how I feel, my love. If it’s an exaggeration it’s because _you _make me feel like that”, she looks at him sweetly: “you are always so sweet, my love”, he approaches her and kisses her lovingly. That causes the table to wobble and some ink to spill on the letter. She laughs, then sounding annoyed, she scolds him: “now I need to re-write this. Enough romanticisms, for now, Spiro”, he pretends to be cross. He makes big, sad, puppy eyes with pouting lips: “I did not think you’d ever say that to me, Louisa”, she laughs. She gets up, looks at him sweetly, hugs and kisses him: “sorry, love, of course there never is enough romanticism between us, just be more careful when ink is around, please”. They hug and kiss again, then she cleans up the inky mess and sits back at the table to rewrite the letter he has spoiled.
  * Spiros goes back to play the game with the children. Larry asks: “what’s mother doing?”, “she is writing letters and she has just scolded me” Margot smiles: “that’s hard to believe! What have you done to deserve that, Spiro?”, he looks contrite now: “I’ve spilled ink on the letter she had just written”, Larry makes a smirk: “quite the capital offence!”, Gerry smirks too: “ground for a break up!”, Leslie chuckles: “how did that happen?”, “I accidentally hit the table when I kissed her”, Larry smiles: “you will need to use all of your niceness to patch this up, sir”, Spiros looks sad. Margot makes a sweet smile: “don’t listen to Larry, Spiro. I am sure she is not truly upset with you. It’s not that big a deal, really”, Gerry nods: “yea, you’ll be fine. Meanwhile let’s play. It’s your turn Spiro”.
  * After a while Spiros returns to the kitchen. Louisa is sealing the envelopes, he looks at her from a few steps away, unsure what to do: “all done, my love?”, she smiles sweetly: “yes this is the last one, and I had no more ink disasters after you left, my love”, “is the ink bottle closed now?”, she smiles: “well closed and put away”, he makes a big happy smile: “that’s good!”, he approaches her with naughty looks. He gently pulls her up the chair and hugs her tightly, holding her against his body: “now I don’t need to worry about that bloody ink”, she giggles, they kiss. A long kiss that becomes more and more sensual. He starts kissing her neck and touching her breasts through her dress, she whispers: “behave yourself love, the children are in the room next door”, rubbing himself against her body, he smiles naughtily: “that’s easy to fix”, he takes her hand and leads her upstairs to their bedroom. She follows him quite willingly. They close the door behind themselves…
  * Gerry calls from the room next door: “Spiro, it’s your turn!”. Nobody answers. Larry walks into the kitchen: “they are gone!”, then he walks back to the living room, laughing, Gerry smirks: “patching up their little upset”. Margot smiles: “but we haven’t finished the game”, Leslie laughs: “and we won’t, unless you are willing to fetch them from their bedroom”, Margot giggles: “I can’t, I am still a minor!”, Larry chuckles: “I wouldn’t either, there are things I just don’t care to witness”, Leslie nods: “neither do I. She is still our mother, after all”, Gerry cringes: “yea, one thing is to watch animals mating, but to see your own mother…”. They all laugh, Larry sneers: “since there seem to be no volunteers…”, he puts the game away. Unfinished…

  * The next morning Louisa and Spiro go to the British consul, “as I have told your son Lawrence, Mrs. Durrell, your marriage by British law can be celebrated here. We only need this list of documents from each of you, with the addition of your husband’s death certificate, Mrs. Durrell and your divorce papers, Mr. Halikiopoulos”, he hands them a list, “then we can schedule a date quite quickly. There is no waiting list”, Spiros is looking at the list: “will I need to have all of my documents translated into English?”, “no, we accept them in Greek. Because I can read Greek, I can officially certify their content”, “oh that will make things a lot easier!”. They leave the British consul and go to the photographer in town to take photos for their documents. They also decide to take their first photo together, as a happy couple, Spiros smiles happily: “we can hang it in our bedroom, love”, she smiles sweetly: “I like the idea, let’s do it”.
  * They also go back to the Petridis’, “Florence, we were just at the British consul’s office. He confirmed we need two witnesses for our ‘secret’ marriage. One for each of us. Would you and your husband be able to do that for us?”, she smiles: “of course, Louisa, happily so! As you know I love the idea of a ‘secret’ marriage”, Louisa smiles too: “so does Margot, our romantic girl”, “then I must be a romantic girl too”, her husband arrives in that moment and hears that. He looks at his wife sweetly: “yes you are, my dear, and I am happy about that”, he stands there, with big puppy eyes, head tilted, slightly open arms, smiling at her very sweetly. Florence walks up to him, they hug and kiss, then he turns towards Spiros with a funny smile, “see? It still works!”. They all laugh, “always, doctor!”, the doctor and Florence kiss again. 
  * Doctor Petridis smiles: “speaking of this, I have been meaning to ask you something about your PTS, Louisa, if you don’t mind”, “of course I don’t, after all that you have done to help me!”, “I have noticed that you no longer have those spontaneous flashbacks. At the trial you said you did the re-enactment protocol with Dr. Mavrodaki. So it seems it has worked!”, she smiles happily: “yes, we did it last week and I haven’t had a full flashback since. The protocol worked very well. It introduced Spiro into the memory. Now I only have very brief flashbacks where I see his smiling/sad face. They never develop into a panic attack anymore”, Florence sounds puzzled: “smiling/sad face?”, she smiles sweetly: “yes, it’s the expression he had when I came back from the re-enactment”, Spiros makes a sad smile: “that protocol was very difficult to implement. I had to act as the assailant of the violence. I hated it”, he looks at Louisa very sweetly: “I cried throughout. So that’s the face she saw”, he hugs Louisa: “sorry love, that’s the image you will have to live with until those flashbacks finally stop”, Louisa looks at him very, very, lovingly: “that’s the sweetest image I’d ever want to see. It reminds me of how hard you have pushed yourself beyond your comfort zone so that I could get better”, they hug tightly and kiss. One long love kiss, Florence looks at her husband sweetly: “these two, always smooching! But you did ask, my dear…”, they chuckle and kiss too, Louisa notices that and smiles: “you two have been smooching too!”, Florence blushes. They all laugh. Happy couples.

  * On Monday Spiros leaves the house in the morning, to go to the ferry arrival. He also does various errands to collect the documents he needs for their British wedding. Louisa too collects the same documents. She has them all in the house, so it is easier for her. Evening, “I have gathered most of my documents, love. I am only missing two which should be ready on Thursday”, she smiles: “wonderful, love, was it difficult to get those from the Greek authorities?”, he makes a smirk: “not at all, a friend of mine works in that office. You know, in Greece that helps a lot”, they laugh, “even in India and I am sure having friends in the right places doesn’t hurt in England either”.

  * On Tuesday Louisa, Spiros, and Margot drive to Dimitra and Christo’s house. Spiros and Christos stay with Mihalis while Margot and Katherini walk with Louisa and Dimitra to the shop to choose their wedding dresses. They have great fun, each trying on various dresses, “you look fabulous in that mother”, she sounds unsure: “oh, do you think so? I find it too revealing”, Dimitra smiles: “you look very nice, Louisa, you should choose that. Spiro will love it”, “mmmm, I think this would actually suit you better than me, Dimitra. You should try it on too”, “mamaka, Louisa, when I get married can I have a nice dress like those too?”, Dimitra smiles sweetly: “of course koukla mou and we will help you choose it”. After a few hours and several dresses, they each choose a dress and go back to Dimitra and Christos’ house where Spiros and Christos are having a drink, playing tavli with Mihalis. Dimitra approaches Christos and kisses him. Spiros gets up and kisses Louisa, “have you chosen a dress love?”, she makes a mysterious smile: “almost, but I will not tell you anything about it, my curious fiancée”, Dimitra smiles: “she looks really good in it, Spiro, this much I will tell you”, Louisa smiles at her: “thank you Dimitra. You look really pretty in the dress you have chosen. I am sure Christos will love it”, Spiros smiles: “I am so curious now…”, Christo agrees: “so am I!”, Louisa laughs: “well, you will have to hold your curiosity, sirs, until the big days…”. She smiles sweetly and kisses Spiros. Dimitra and Christos kiss too.

(trnsl: Mamaka = mommy; koukla = doll; mou = my; Tavli is a game similar to backgammon)

  * That evening. “Mother have you chosen your wedding dress?”, “I have found one that I really like, Larry, but I want to go back and try it again before I decide”, Margot smiles: “she looks fabulous in that dress. I hope you will choose it mother. Spiro, you will love it!”, he smiles at Louisa sweetly: “I am sure I will. I like your taste in clothing, love”, he makes a naughty smile: “and I’d love you in anything, really, even more so with nothing on”, she blushes and slaps him gently: “then you should marry Henry Miller. He is very liberal”. They all laugh. Larry inquires: “will you wear that dress even at your British wedding?”, “no Larry, I will wear a regular dress for that”, he sounds relieved: “good, I was becoming worried that waiting for your dress may delay the wedding. You really need to do that quickly, you know it”, Margot chuckles: “you sound like you are trying to get rid of mother, Larry”, they all laugh, “no sister, I am just pushing because the news about a possible war are more and more worrying and I want us all out of Corfu before that happens”, Louisa approaches Larry and kisses him on his cheek: “thanks for caring so much, Larry”, he smiles: “of course mother!” 

  * Wednesday afternoon. The children are all out. Spiros and Louisa are at home alone. They have set up a table in the living room and now they are waiting for their guests. As they wait, they stand in the kitchen, hugging and kissing lovingly. The British judge and his wife, the Petridis and the Stephanides arrive for tea. Florence walks in first and laughs: “here they are, smooching, as always. Sorry if we are intruding, lovers. We can come back later if you need us to”, the others walk in and laugh too. Louisa blushes, Spiros, still hugging Louisa, smiles sweetly: “sorry, but I can’t help it. I still can’t believe my luck that this English beauty would have agreed to marry me”, Maria smiles sweetly: “aww you are such a romantic, Spiro! Of course she would marry you!”, Florence agrees: “indeed!”, the judge smiles too: “I don’t think any of us is all that surprised, really. May I introduce my wife Georgia*? Georgia, these are Mrs. Durrell and Mr. Halikiopoulos. They are newly engaged, apparently”. They all shake hands, Georgia smiles: “nice to meet you and congratulations on your engagement!”, “thank you! It’s nice to meet you too, and please do call me Louisa!”, “and me Georgia!”, “and me Spiro! Welcome to our home, please come in!”. They all sit in the living room.

*pronounced the Greek way [iorghi’a]

  * Louisa and Spiros act as perfect hosts. They serve tea and several sweets that they have prepared earlier. Florence is impressed: “did you really make all of these?’, “yes, we did that together. Spiro is a good cook. He made the Greek sweets and I made the English scones and biscuits, and one Indian sweet, the chocolate burfi fudge”, Maria smiles: “oh you are so lucky Louisa! If Theo ever cooked I’d get a plate full of fried copepods!”, he sounds cross: “that’s silly dear, I’d never do that to my poor copepods!”, Maria chuckles: “of course not. For the copepods’ sake, not because they might not be edible!”, they all laugh, Florence smirks: “my husband does not do much cooking either. Just the bare minimum, when I need to be away, or if the baby is really driving me mad”, Dr. Petridis smiles: “I shall keep quiet because anything I say now may be used against me later”, they laugh. The judge chuckles: “in court, of course!”, Dr. Petridis, smiling sweetly at his wife, agrees: “exactly, and the home court is the toughest!”, the Judge laughs: “indeed, and there are no appeals!”, they all laugh again, Georgia smiles: “my husband, instead, helps with the cooking. He is actually a rather good cook. It is the cleaning afterwards that leaves a lot to be desired”, “dear, we should teach the children to help with that”, she looks at him sweetly: “the children _and_ you, my dear”, “they all laugh. 

  * The judge changes the topic of the conversation: “which reminds me that I meant to ask you, Louisa, how you have raised your children to be so nice, loving, and supportive. Our adolescents are currently in a ‘don’t talk to me I won’t talk to you’ phase and it seems nothing can break through”, Georgia smiles: “except food, that always works”, they laugh. Louisa smiles: “I know that phase very well. My boys all went through it, but they came out the other end, eventually. Only Gerry is still somewhat in the middle of that. He talks to his animals more than he talks to us!”, they all laugh, Louisa continues: “being patient and waiting it out is my best advice, really”, Spiros looks at her sweetly: “you are being too modest, love”, he looks at the others, “I have always admired the great dialog in the Durrell family. Louisa’s children are very comfortable talking about personal things with her”, she blushes at the compliment: “well, raising my children on my own, I had to go onto topics with my boys that normally fathers would cover. So I had to make sure they were comfortable with that. I know I wasn’t. I always find it very embarrassing”, “which makes it all the more admirable that you’d do it”, she smiles, embarrassed: “thank you judge…”.
  * Theo smiles: “is it only your boys that went through that mutism phase? I find it hard to imagine our daughter Alexia’ hitting such a phase. She is rather talkative!”, Louisa laughs: “yes, in my case it’s only the boys. Margot, instead, went through a hyper-moody and hyper-chatty phase. She drove me mad. I am not sure which is worse, the boy’s mutism or the girl’s excessive chattiness”, they all laugh again, Spiro makes a worried face: “oh, I did not realize you did not like chattiness, Louisa. Then I am in trouble...”, he takes her hand with the engagement ring in his hand, then he makes a silly face, pretending to be very, very, concerned: “maybe you will decide you won’t marry me, after all. Too chatty a Greek…”, she chuckles and looks at him sweetly, Florence whispers: “wait for it…”, Maria smiles and whispers too: “it’s coming…”, Spiros and Louisa lean towards each other and kiss tenderly, Maria laughs: “told you…”, Florence smirks: “smooching again…”, Louisa blushes, they all laugh, Florence smiles: “sorry if I made you blush, Louisa”, Maria smiles too: “yes, sorry, but I do hope you know that we pull your leg because we are very happy for you, really”, Louisa smiles: “I know, my friends, thank you for caring!”.

  * Theo picks up a chocolate burfi fudge and makes a very happy face: “oh I love chocolate burfi fudges, they remind me of my childhood in India!”, Louisa smiles: “I imagined you’d appreciate those, Theo. I was thinking of you when I made them”, he smiles with a full mouth: “thank you so much Louisa”, she smiles sweetly: “they do the same for me. They remind me of my Indian childhood”, Spiros makes a smirk: “way, way, way back…”, she slaps him on his shoulder, laughing: “what are you trying to say, Spiro?”, he looks at her with naughty gaze: “nothing, dear, nothing”. They look at each other sweetly and kiss again. Florence laughs: “these two are hopeless!”, Maria smiles: “yes, every excuse is good for a smooch, even such capital offence as joking about a woman’s age”, the judge nods: “yes, I can’t think of a more serious crime”, Spiros chuckles: “and if you say so, judge…”, the judge smiles: “you are a very brave man, Spiro”. They all laugh.

  * The judge continues: “so when did you get engaged? I have signed your divorce papers only a week ago, Spiro”, he smiles sweetly: “yes exactly one week today, judge. I proposed to Louisa on that same day, I couldn’t wait!”, the judge smiles: “that’s right! You had the ring in your pocket on that day. You showed it to me”, Georgia smiles sweetly: “oh that’s very romantic!”, Florence smirks: “careful…”, Dr. Petridis smiles too: “that’s a known trigger, Georgia…”, Louisa and Spiros look at each other very lovingly, then they kiss again. Maria smiles: “more smooching!”. They all laugh. Louisa blushes again, then she smiles: “you will have to come to our wedding!”, Georgia accepts happily: “I’d love to, when will it be?”, “in the Spring at some point. We don’t have a date yet”, Spiros nods: “we will talk with the priest on Sunday afternoon. Hopefully, he will agree to marry us. The Greek church does not recognize divorce”, the judge smiles: “oh, but priests have much discretion on that. If you are convincing enough he will marry you”, Florence smirks: “making a monetary offer to the church does not hurt either”, they all laugh, Louisa smiles: “thanks for the advice, Florence, we may do that. If we are allowed to marry in church Spiros’ parents will be very, very happy”, Spiros nods: “yes, they are very conservative”, Georgia smiles: “like most people on this island, really. Corfiots are very nice people, but very, very old fashioned”, Louisa smiles: “I know, they don’t mean bad, they just don’t know any other realities”, Florence makes a smirk: “and their royals did not found a whole new church just so that they’d be able to grant themselves a divorce and remarry in church!”, Spiros makes a smirk: “nice fellow, that Henry VIII”, they all laugh and continue chatting away, all having a good time.


	19. Planning, planning, planning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wedding plans begin, with an unexpected twist for Louisa...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a bit of a filler, setting up the stage for upcoming events.

  * Thursday, Spiros walks in with a triumphant smile: “today I have finally picked up the last of the documents needed for our wedding, love”, “excellent, then tomorrow you two should go to the consul and finalize a date for it”, “yes, Larry we will do it. It really is looking more and more like you are trying to get rid of me, son”, they laugh. Spiros looks at Louisa with loving eyes: “well, if that is the case, I am more than happy to take your burden off you, Larry, and carry it for the rest of my life”, she smiles sweetly: “I like the concept, love, but I am not sure I like how you have just worded it… me, a burden?!?”, they all laugh, Gerry smirks: “and it implies you are some kind of donkey, Spiro”, Spiros laughs: “a Greek donkey, of course”, Gerry chuckles: “yes, a gaidouri”, they all laugh again, “yea, Spiro, you can do better than that with romanticism”, “you are right, Margot, I can do better”, he looks at Louisa very lovingly: “whenever I think that I will spend the rest of my life with you, Louisa, I am the happiest man on earth”, she smiles sweetly: “that is much, much better, love. And I am the happiest woman on earth because I will spend my life with you, Spiro”. They stare into each other’s eyes lovingly, then he wraps his arms around her. She hugs him back and they kiss. Margot smiles sweetly: “awwww, so romantic!”.

  * Friday: Louisa and Spiros go to the British consul and agree on a date for their wedding. It will be next Thursday, December 22nd, 1938. As they walk out of the consul’s office arm in arm, Louisa, smiles sweetly: “can you believe it that on Thursday we will be married?”, he replies with sweet voice: “and you will be Mrs. Halikiopoulou, how does that feel, love?”, she answers with loving voice: “just marvelous, I am so happy, Spiro, it feels like I am living a dream lately”, he replies lovingly: “me too and I am loving this dream. I hope I will never wake up”, “me too”. They stop in the middle of the road, hug tightly and exchange a long love kiss. The consul is watching out of the window and sees that. He smiles sweetly.
  * They then briefly stop at the Petridis’ to let them know of the date: “Florence is out for groceries, but I will let her know. We will be very happy to be there and witness your union next Thursday”, Spiros makes a big happy smile: “excellent, thank you doctor. We will pick you up about 30 min before the ceremony”, “perfect”.

  * That night they tell the children, Larry is happy the date is soon: “I was worried they’d set it in the new year because of Christmas coming up soon”. Louisa and Spiros are sitting on the sofa next to each other, holding hands. Their fingers interlaced. Spiros puts an arm around her shoulders and hugs her tenderly: “it was a busy day. You look tired, my love, let’s go to sleep early so that you can get some rest”. Louisa is not really feeling tired but she goes along. Once they disappear upstairs, Larry smirks: “mother did not look tired at all”, Leslie chuckles: “neither did Spiro”. They all laugh. They know exactly what that meant.
  * As they enter their bedroom Spiros closes the door behind them. Then he hugs Louisa tightly and gives her a long sensual kiss. She smiles at him sweetly: “it seems you have improper intentions, my love”, he looks at her with naughty expression, still holding her in his arms: “well, you knew it when I said you looked tired”, she laughs softly: “I did. I knew you knew I was not tired”, “I just wanted an excuse to take you upstairs and take advantage of you, my love”, she smiles sweetly: “and compromise my honor with your irreverent behavior?”, he laughs softly: “my intentions, exactly, my fair English lady”, now she smiles at him naughtily: “I hope that is not just an empty promise, my Greek tempter”. They exchange another long sensual kiss: “I will keep my promise, my love”, he presses his body against hers. She feels his erection through their clothes. She gently rubs her body against it, then she kisses him sensually again: “mmm I believe you now, my love”. He begins undressing her. He unbuttons and removes her blouse and bra, then he kisses her breasts. She unbuttons and removes his shirt, drops his suspenders, opens his trousers and underwear and lets them drop to the floor. She caresses his erection. She kneels and takes him into her mouth. He closes his eyes and moans. After a while he gently moves her away and suddenly picks her up, off the floor rag. She is startled and almost screams. He whispers to her ear: “quiet, my love, we are not alone in the house”, she giggles quietly and kisses him sensually as he carries her to the bed. He removes the rest of her clothes, then they lay down and continue touching and stimulating each other. He kisses her body, including her sex, for quite some times. She moans and touches and kisses him. Then he sits up and gently lifts her towards him. She sits on him. They make love while hugging and kissing very lovingly.

  * On Sunday they go to the Greek orthodox church in town to talk to the priest. “I expected you. This morning the countess approached me after mass and mentioned your engagement. She said you are eager to marry in church”, Spiros nods: “we are”, “well, we usually don’t celebrate religious weddings for divorced people. As you know the church does not accept divorce”, Spiros and Louisa look disappointed, the priest continues: “however, they do allow us large discretion and the countess has convinced me that your union should be sanctified”, Louisa makes a happy smile: “that is excellent news, thank you so much!”, “yes, I will do it, but I won’t do the ceremony unless you are both Greek Orthodox”, she sounds disappointed: “oh… I am not, I was baptized in an Anglican church in India”, the priest smiles at her: “then I can’t marry you”, Spiros sounds disappointed too: “but it’s the same God, why not?”, the priest is inconvincible: “unless you receive the Greek Orthodox baptism I cannot do that, sorry Mrs. Durrell”, “how do I do that?”, “well, we can do the christening ceremony here. Only after that we can set a date for your wedding”, Louisa gives in: “fine, let’s set a date for my baptism, then”, Spiros looks worried: “but we’d want a private ceremony. Not during a public mass”, the priest makes a smirk: “you may want to know that the fee for private ceremonies is 3 times higher, though”, Spiros answers in a very definite tone: “that’s fine, we will pay that”. The priest agrees and they set a date and pay the fee. Louisa will receive the Greek orthodox baptism next Friday, the day after their British wedding. 
  * That evening they tell the children. Larry makes a smirk: “oh, that should be a fun spectacle, mother. I hope you have booked a private ceremony”, “yes, Spiro has specifically asked for that even if it is a fair bit more expensive. I am not sure why, though”, the children all laugh, Margot smiles: “have you ever seen a Greek baptism, mother?”, “yes, of course, we all went to the christening of several babies: the Petridis’, Daphne’s, and of Leonora, Lugaretzia daughter”, Margot smirks: “then you may remember that the baby was bathed in water with holy oil”. Louisa suddenly remembers that and looks horrified. The children all laugh. Spiros smiles sweetly and hugs her: “yes, my love, you will need to bathe”, “not naked!!”, they all laugh again, Spiros answers with sweet voice: “no, for adults they recommend a bathing costume”, she really blushes now: “I did not realize it was going to be so embarrassing!”, he kisses her softly: “I am sorry love. That’s the way the Greek orthodox rite works. We can call it off, if you wish, and we can marry with a civil Greek ceremony at city hall”. Louisa sits quietly for a bit: “that would really upset your parents, love. Let’s keep that date for the baptism, but I want no invitees!”, they all laugh again. “Well, we will need at least one Greek Orthodox person to act as your God parent”, she sounds annoyed: “a parent? At my age?”, he makes a silly smirk: “are you saying you are old, my love?”, “most certainly not!” they all laugh again. He smiles naughtily then kisses her.

  * The next day, while Spiro is at work, driving his taxi, Louisa walks to town. She goes to the Petridis. Florence opens the door and smiles: “Louisa, I did not expect you, please come in. I can make tea”, Louisa sounds very serious: “don’t worry about that, Florence. I am just here to ask for a very special favor”, Florence looks surprised: “other than being your witness at your ‘secret’ wedding on Thursday?”, Louisa smiles: “oh that’s easy by comparison”, Florence, looks really surprised now: “so what is it? Are you pregnant?”, Louisa laughs: “after my hysterectomy _that_ would be a miracle!”, Florence is puzzled: “so what is it, Louisa?”, Louisa sounds uncertain: “well yesterday we talked to the priest about the Greek Orthodox ceremony”, Florence sounds worried now: “did he raise the issue that Spiro is divorced?”, “he did, but he says he has discretion on that and he has agreed to marry us in church”, Florence smiles: “oh that’s good news, then”, Louisa sounds very gloomy and grim: “yes but he won’t do it unless we are both Greek Orthodox”, Florence starts laughing really hard. She keeps laughing and laughing. She can’t stop it. As she laughs, she wipes her tears and guides Louisa to sit on the sofa: “Florence, please, it’s not funny!”, “oh my God, Louisa, yes, it is funny!! You act so secretive about it!!”, Louisa sounds annoyed now: “well you may not remember that a Greek christening involves a full bath in oily water!”, Florence keeps laughing, tears rolling down her cheeks: “oh I know that very well, I had to do it myself before I could get married in a Greek church!”. 
  * Now it’s Louisa’s turn to laugh hard. For a while they both laugh, then Florence asks: “did you book a private ceremony? My husband made sure he did when I was baptized”, “yes, even Spiro ensured we booked a private ceremony. At least that! I am doing it for him, after all!”, they keep laughing, “so when is the big day?”, “next Friday, the day after our British wedding. Since you are a Greek Orthodox, would you agree to be my Godmother?”, Florence resumes laughing very hard: “me your mother?”, they both laugh even harder at that idea. In that moment, Dr. Petridis walks in: “hello Louisa, I did not realize you were here. I’ve heard lots of laughing. So, what’s so funny, if you don’t mind my asking?”, Louisa blushes. Florence looks at her husband: “I am not sure I have permission to tell you, love”, she makes a tight smile: “sure why not, let’s all have a good laugh”. Florence tells her husband. He smiles: “it’s not that nice that you’d be laughing so hard, darling. You had to do the same thing yourself and you did not take it too well when I laughed about it”. Florence blushes: “oh, that’s so true! I am sorry Louisa”, “no problem, Florence, I do have to admit it is pretty bloody funny. So, will you be my Godmother?”, now even Dr. Petridis laughs: “your mother?”, Louisa chuckles: “yes, and if you agree to it, Florence, I promise I will call you mother only when I am having a really, really, bad day”, they all laugh again, “sure, why not, my child”. Louisa looks at Dr. Petridis smiling: “you are invited to the ceremony too, if you wish. You are my doctor, after all. I can’t be too ashamed of you, really”.
  * Louisa makes a shy smile: “Florence there is one more favor I wanted to ask you. But I do realize I am asking a lot lately, so feel free to say no”, Florence smiles: “I am happy to be involved in this important moment in your life, my friend, what is it?”, she smiles: “well, on Tuesday Dimitra and I went to choose our wedding dresses, with Margot and Katherini. I have picked one that I like but I’d like to try it on again before I take my final decision. Would you be able to go with me and give me your honest opinion? Margot thinks I look good in it, but she is a teenager and you know the kind of clothes she likes…”, they laugh, “of course, happy to! When were you thinking of going?”, “either tomorrow or on Wednesday, whichever works best for you”, “then that would be tomorrow”, “very well, tomorrow be then. I can come by, then we can go there together”.

  * That evening Spiro and Louisa see Dr. Mavrodaki. They are going less frequently now. A few times a week, mostly to continue desensitization with Dennis and just have a good time with their friend. Tea is ready, as usual, and the countess is sitting on the usual armchair. They are sitting on the usual sofa, side by side. Louisa smiles: “we have lots of news, countess”, Spiros nods: “yes, we have a date for our British wedding”, the countess is the only other person to know about it and she has promised to keep quiet. They know she will: “we’d love it if you attended, countess”, she smiles: “I’d love to. Your weddings are one thing that drags me out of my house, Louisa, whether you go through with them or not”, they all laugh. She is clearly alluding to her non-wedding with Sven. Spiros looks at Louisa lovingly: “well, I am so happy we only had a party on that day. And I really, really, do hope she will go through with it this time”, the countess smiles sweetly: “I am sure she will, Spiro”. Louisa looks at him lovingly: “of course, love, you know that”. They kiss.
  * Spiros makes a naughty smile: “there’s more news, countess. Some that Louisa is very proud of and very eager to go through”, blushed, she slaps his shoulder gently. The countess smiles: “you don’t have to tell me, Spiro, if Louisa does not feel comfortable with it”, Louisa smiles: “no, I don’t mind, not with you, countess”, Spiros continues: “well, the priest has agreed to marry us even if I am divorced and I understand you played an important role in his decision”, she nods: “yes I have talked to him on Sunday”, “yes, just before we got there. Thank you very much, countess”, she smiles: “so do you have a date for the Greek wedding, then?”, he smirks: “not yet, and that’s where the other piece of news is: Louisa will need to be baptized with the Greek ritual, first”, Louisa looks all embarrassed now: “and that requires a bath in oily water!”, the countess smiles, holding back a chuckle: “I know that very well. I had to do it myself before I could marry my Greek husband. It is not that bad Louisa. Just take along a good bathrobe”, she makes a tight smile: “yes, Florence has told me the same thing. We had a good laugh together earlier. I’ve asked her to be my Godmother. Had I known that you were a Greek Orthodox I would have asked you!”, she smiles: “just as well, Louisa, I am happy to be your friend. Not sure about being your mother”, they all laugh: “yea, Florence is not so sure about that role either. And she is younger than me!”, Spiros smiles at her sweetly: “that means she is a child because you are only a young girl”, she pretends to be cross with him: “you are such a bad liar!”. They all laugh. He hugs her. They kiss tenderly.
  * Louisa smiles: “one more thing, countess. I’d love your opinion on a wedding dress I like. Would you be able to join Florence and me tomorrow?”, “sure why not”, Spiros smiles: “excellent, I can leave you the car so that Louisa can pick you up”, “thank you, love”, the countess makes a happy smile: “oh, this wedding planning is so much fun. Thank you for involving me, my dears”, Louisa smiles: “thank _you_ for your help, countess!”.
  * Next, they do a bit more desensitization with Dennis. Because they are not doing that as frequently, this is coming along, but more slowly than before. So far, Louisa can take gentle contacts from him but only when she is aware of them. She still shivers to back contacts, even when expected, so today they practice them a bit more “I will pat your back now, Mrs. Durrell”.

  * Spiros looks serious now: “countess, there is another thing we’d like to talk to you about and it is not as light a topic I am afraid”, she looks surprised: “oh, I thought everything else was well with you, Louisa”, he smiles: “it is, countess, this is not about Louisa’s PTS”. Louisa continues: “have you thought what you will do in case of war?”, “I will just stay here, Louisa”, “but that is very dangerous! I am sure you know that Corfu is always involved because of its strategic location”, “I know, Louisa, but I could never leave this house. It’d be like leaving my husband. I just can’t…”, Spiros sits quietly. He lets Louisa do the talking: “when things get bad we plan to go to England together. Why don’t you go with us? It’d be just for the duration of the war. We’d all return to Corfu’ as soon as the war ends”, the countess smiles sweetly, but answers with firm voice: “I thank you for your offer, but I won’t leave this house”, Louisa insists: “we could ask the British consul to issue a visa to England for you. I am sure he would. You are part of our community in so many ways”, she makes a tight smile: “yes, he probably would, but I am not interested in going to England”, Louisa sounds upset now: “we could travel together. We’d help you. You would not be alone. You could be with us”, she smiles: “I truly appreciate your concern, Louisa, but no, I won’t do it. If you are truly my friend, please, accept and respect my decision”, Louisa’s eyes fill with tears: “but…”, the countess looks at her with serious eyes: “please…”. Louisa stops talking. Her and Spiros both look sad, tears are rolling down her cheeks. Spiros intervenes: “let’s leave this here, then, ladies. Countess, maybe you can give this a thought and we can talk about it again later?”, she smiles: “maybe…”. Spiros and Louisa get up to leave. Louisa is still upset but tries to sound cheerful: “see you tomorrow, countess. I will pick you up with the car”.

  * In the morning, Spiros drives the children to town and goes to the ferry from Igoumenitsa to wait for travelers. He drives a few of them around, then he goes back home, “I am back my love, here are the keys”, they kiss, “thank you love, I will see you later”, he hugs her and looks into her eyes lovingly: “are you sure I can’t go with you?”, she smiles sweetly: “as much as I love having you with me all the time, my love, we’ll stick to tradition for this. You are not to see my dress until the day of our wedding, in church”, he makes a silly frown with a pouting lip: “fine, fine, I will have to hold my curiosity then”. She smiles sweetly: “making that cute baby face won’t work this time, my love”. She reaches for his lips and gives him a soft kiss, then she grabs the keys and drives off.
  * Louisa picks up the countess then drives to the Petridis’ to pick up even Florence. They all go to the wedding dress shop. Louisa puts on the dress she likes. Florence smiles: “you look so lovely in it, Louisa!”, she sounds unsure: “are you sure it is not too revealing? My shoulders are completely uncovered”, the countess smiles: “yes and that is one reason for you look really nice in it. I wouldn’t change it”, Florence nods: “but you do need something to cover your shoulders and arms in church”, the countess makes a funny smile: “yes you don’t want to give funny thoughts to the priest with your beauty”, the 3 women laugh. The shop assistant intervenes: “maybe this?”, she shows her a short laced blouse that matches the dress very nicely. Louisa puts it on, Florence smiles: “perfect!”, “yes, it looks really nice. And you can pin a flower to it”, “nice idea, thank you countess”, Florence smiles: “maybe a red rose”, Louisa looks perplexed: “oh wouldn’t that be too allusive?”, the countess, chuckles: “yes, it may not go too well with the puritan society we live in”, Louisa sounds worried now: “…that includes Spiro’s parents”, the countess smiles: “I thought you had charmed them by now”, “yes, they are a lot more accepting of me now, but Spiros’ father keeps coming up with my least favorite Greek word: amartoli’*. I hope he stops that after we are married”, they all smile, Florence chuckles: “yes, once you no longer live in such sinful relationship, my friend”, Louisa smiles shyly. They all laugh, Florence continues: “forget the red rose then. Maybe you can pin a pink or yellow rose on it. You will still look lovely”, “yes you would, Louisa”, “thank you both for your advice, then I will take this dress, with this blouse and I will pin a rose to it”.

(*trnsl: sinner)

  * The shop assistant smiles: “what about a veil? In Greek churches you must cover your head too”, Florence nods: “yes, I was forgetting about that”, the shop assistant hands Louisa a laced veil that covers her head and face: “the groom can lift it when you walk into the church and you can have your face uncovered for the ceremony”, Louisa smiles: “it looks nice, thank you”, the countess agrees: “yes, very nice and very proper for church. You can take the veil and the blouse off at the party, to show off your lovely dress and beauty”, Louisa blushes. Florence smiles: “and we should make sure we ask the musicians to play a tango. We can get you a red rose then”, the countess makes a knowing smile: “you can hold it with your teeth. I’ve heard a red rose is all that was missing the last time you and Spiro danced a tango”, Florence smirks: “indeed! They danced it beautifully and they looked very, very, sexy. They really scandalized this conservative society!” Louisa blushes again. They all laugh.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A couple of factual notes. That non-Greek Orthodox people would not be allowed to get married in Greek Orthodox churches is true to this day. And yes, the baptism involves a full dip in oily water....
> 
> Instead, the rule that women must cover their heads while in church is typically no longer enforced. It still is in other Orthodox churches, though, so I assumed it was in Greek churches too, in the 30ties.


	20. Eventful days

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two important days are here. The British wedding and Louisa's Greek Christening

  * Thursday, December 22, 1938. They all get up early and excited. After breakfast, they wear their nice dresses. Spiros and the children are all ready, waiting for Louisa to join them downstairs. Spiros suddenly makes a dreamy face: “I must have hit my head again. I am seeing an angel walking down the stairs”, Margot smiles: “aww you are always sooo romantic, Spiro!!”, Spiros is looking at Louisa with very loving eyes. She is wearing the nice green dress she has bought recently, with a pretty hanging front and uncovered shoulders. She looks really pretty in it. She is also wearing a simple pearl necklace with matching earrings. And her hair and makeup are done nicely. Spiros approaches her with a big happy smile and kisses her: “my fair English lady I hope you are available to marry this ugly Greek today”, she laughs sweetly: “I know you know that you are very handsome, my pretend modest Greek”, they kiss again, “and you look really smart in that suit, definitely very marry-able”, then she notices that he has lipstick on his lips. She uses her handkerchief to clean it up, then she puts some more lipstick on: “no more kisses, love”, he grabs her gently, and kisses her again: “sorry, I can’t resist you, my beauty”. She laughs and cleans his lips again, then she puts on more lipstick. Larry smiles: “I thought I had just seen this film. If it keeps repeating itself, we may be here for a while…”. They all laugh. Leslie grabs the car keys: “let’s go, lovers, or we will be late! Don’t forget that we need to pick up the Petridis and the countess”. They all leave with Spiros’ car. Leslie is driving. He drops them off at the British consulate, then he picks up the countess, Florence, and Dr. Petridis.
  * The consul checks all of their documents and puts them on a side: “it all seems in order. I will have my secretary make copies while we perform the ceremony, so that you can retain the originals. I will certify the authenticity of those copies. Please follow me, now”, they walk to a room at the back, with a big British flag, a large table, and several lines of chairs for the audience. Looking at the Durrell siblings and the countess the consul points at the rows of chairs: “please do all take seats. Mrs. Durrell, Mr. Halikiopoulos, will you be exchanging rings?”, Louisa shakes her head: “not today, we will do that at our Greek wedding”, “that’s fine, please stand here”. Louisa and Spiros stand at the front, facing the table, their backs to the audience. They look at each other, smiling sweetly, the consul continues with his directions: “the witnesses should sit on those chairs, behind each spouse”. Florence sits behind Louisa. Dr. Petridis behind Spiros.
  * The consul walks behind the table. He is wearing a sash with the British flag: “good morning ladies and gentlemen. On behalf of the British crown and the British government I welcome you all to the British Consulate of Corfu Town. I must first of all tell you that this room in which we are now met has been duly sanctioned according to the British law for the celebration of marriage. You are here to witness the joining in matrimony of Louisa Florence Emily Dixie Durrell and Spyridon Halikiopoulos. If any person present knows of any lawful impediment to this marriage you should declare it now”. Nobody has anything to say here, obviously…
  * “The purpose of marriage is that you always love, care for and support each other through both the joys and sorrows of life. Today you will exchange vows of marriage which will unite you as husband and wife. These vows are a promise of a lifelong commitment. Before you are both joined together in marriage it is my duty to remind you of the solemn and binding character of the vows you are about to make. Marriage in England is the union of two people voluntarily entered into for life to the exclusion of all others. I am now going to ask you each in turn to declare that you know of no legal reason why you may not be joined together in marriage. Please repeat after me…”.
  * With soft voice, Louisa repeats after the consul: “I do solemnly declare – that I know not – of any lawful impediment – why I, Louisa Florence Emily Dixie Durrell, may not be joined in marriage to Spyridon Halikiopoulos”.
  * As he speaks, Spiros, sounds moved: “I do solemnly declare – that I know not – of any lawful impediment – why I, Spyridon Halikiopoulos, may not be joined in marriage to Louisa Florence Emily Dixie Durrell”.
  * The consul continues: “Now we move on to the formal vows of marriage. Spiro, Louisa, please face each other. Guests, please stand”. Spiros and Louisa turn towards each other and hold hands, their eyes very, very, loving, “please repeat with me”.
  * Louisa, looking at Spiros sweetly, speaks with soft voice: “I call upon – these persons here present – to witness that I, Louisa Florence Emily Dixie Durrell, do take you, Spyridon Halikiopoulos, to be my lawful wedded husband.
  * Spiros looks into Louisa’s eyes very lovingly: “I call upon – these persons here present – to witness that I, Spyridon Halikiopoulos, do take you, Louisa Florence Emily Dixie Durrell, to be my lawful wedded wife.
  * Margot is crying profusely now. Leslie, Gerry, and Larry all look quite moved too. The countess too, wipes a few tears off with her handkerchief. Florence and Dr. Petridis are both smiling very sweetly. Leslie is taking photos, with his camera on a tripod.
  * The consul completes the rite: “today is a new beginning. May you have many happy years together and in those years may all your hopes and dreams be fulfilled. Above all, may you always believe in each other and may the warmth of your love enrich not only your lives but the lives of all those around you. It now gives me great pleasure to tell you both that you are now legally Husband and Wife. Congratulations”.
  * Spiros and Louisa look at each other very lovingly, then they hug tightly and kiss. A very long love kiss. Her children and the Petridis all clap, smiling happily. Margot is still crying: “this is so romantic!”. The children all get up and congratulate the happy couple, hugging their mother and Spiros. The countess gets up too and also hugs them both: “syncharitiria ta agapimena mou!”, Florence hugs Louisa and Spiros, “I am so happy for you, congratulations!”, Dr. Petridis hugs Spiros and holds Louisa’s arms (he knows he is not supposed to hug her) “syncharitiria. I am very happy for you!”

(trnsl: syncharitiria = congratulations; ta agapimena mou = my beloved ones)

  * The consul shakes their hands to congratulate them and points at four chairs by the table, then looks at the newlyweds and the Petridis: “will you please be seated for the signing of the Register?”. He places multiple copies of the marriage license on the table. On the front page, it lists Louisa’s and Spiro’s names, and on the back, it has four lines for Louisa’s, Spiros’, and the witnesses’ signatures. At the bottom, the consul adds his signature, with a seal that confirms the authenticity of all 4 signatures above. “these are your copies of your marriage license, Mr. and Mrs. Halikiopoulos”, Spiros makes a big happy smile: “thank you Mr. consul”, he smiles: “I was happy to marry the two of you. Everybody in town knows you are a happy and loving couple”, Louisa blushes: “we are, thank you, Mr. Consul”, Florence smiles: “yes, everybody knows”, then she whispers to Louisa’s ear: “you may want to remove that lipstick from your newlywed husband’s lips”, Louisa smiles, approaches Spiros, and cleans his lips with her handkerchief. The children notice that and giggle, Larry smirks: “the same film keeps playing… being officially married has made no difference so far”, Margot smiles sweetly: “and that’s good news…”.

  * The consul smiles: “Dr. Petridis, at the feast for the Litany of St Spyridon you revived Mr. Halikiopoulos when he fell off the ladder, didn’t you?”, “I did and I am very happy to be here today to witness this outcome of that medical intervention”, they all smile. Louisa looks surprised: “oh I did not remember you were there too, consul”, “I was standing behind you, Mrs. Halikiopoulou”, Louisa smiles, she is not used to be called that yet, but she likes it. Spiros looks at her sweetly and puts his arm around her shoulders. He knows what she is thinking. He likes it too. “I was also at your trial two weeks ago. I am always invited to attend trials that involve British nationals. I was especially happy to marry you today because I know how close the two of you are and how much that helps you cope with the consequences of Mr. Jarvis’ assault”, Florence smiles: “and Greek-English couples are the best!”, the consul smiles too: “I couldn’t agree with you more, Mrs. Petridi. My wife Soula is from Corfu and we are very happy together”. They all smile, Spiros, still hugging Louisa smiles sweetly: “well, I can ensure you all that we will add to that list of happy mixed couples”, Louisa smiles: “you and your wife should come for tea at some point”, “we’d be happy to, Mrs. Halikiopoulou”, Larry smiles: “you will be spoiled, consul. Mother’s scones are the best”, Louisa blushes. Spiros kisses her. Leslie chuckles: “more lipstick to be removed from Spiro’s lips, mother”, she smiles embarrassed and cleans his lips with her handkerchief, which already has several red marks. Spiros smiles sweetly: “thank you love”, then he kisses her again. Gerry laughs: “more lipstick to be removed, mother. You might as well remove it from yourself”, Leslie laughs too: “either that or we will be here all day”, Larry smirks: “and we do need to go and hand in this form to the Greek authorities, lovebirds”, “sandhill cranes…”, Margot chuckles: “yes, brother, we know, those that mate for life. Very fitting today, actually”. They all laugh.

  * Spiros smiles: “Mr. consul, may we ask that you keep our marriage confidential? We intend to do a larger Greek ceremony in the Spring and we don’t want to spoil it. Not even my children and my parents know that we got married here today”, Margot makes a dreamy smile: “and secret marriages are soooo romantic!”, they all smile, “of course, Mr. Halikiopoulos, I won’t tell anyone. I will also make sure I process your license quickly so that the rest of your paperwork can also be processed quickly”, Louisa smiles: “thank you very much consul”, “now that you are married, you can both sign and submit to me the request for British citizenship form for Mr. Halikiopoulos”, Larry hands the form he has already filled, Spiros and Louisa sign it, “don’t forget to sign as Mrs. Halikiopoulou, mother”, Louisa smiles: “yes, I have been practicing it, both with the English and the Greek alphabet”, the consul nods: “you should use the English alphabet on this form and put the ‘s’ in the end of your Greek surname. The British authorities do not apply the rules of the Greek grammar. They simply assign the bride the surname of her husband, without alterations”, “yes Florence told me that”, “yes I always have to sign Petridis in English and Petridi in Greek. It took a while to get used to that in the beginning”, the consul takes the signed forms, then smiles: “and don’t forget to go and renounce your Greek citizenship with the Greek authorities today, Mrs. Halikiopoulou”, Larry nods: “we won’t forget, we have the form filled and signed here, ready to be dropped off as we leave this office”.
  * The consul turns towards the Petridis, “speaking of that, Mrs. Petridi, this morning I have processed your applications. You are officially a British citizen again, and I have communicated it to the Greek authorities that have confirmed that your Greek citizenship has been revoked. Here is the certification of British citizenship as well as your new British passport. And here is the citizenship application form for your husband and child. You should both sign it, Mr. and Mrs. Petridis”, “thank you very much, consul. We really appreciate how quickly you have done this”, “my pleasure, we all know how urgent this is all becoming, unfortunately”.
  * Spiros intervenes: “while we are talking about this, consul, we were wondering, was Dr. Mavrodaki to wish to go to England for the duration of the war, would it be difficult for her to obtain the necessary paperwork?”, the consul turns towards the countess and smiles: “I’d be very happy to issue a visa to England, Dr. Mavrodaki. You have been a member of our community for many years”, she smiles: “thank you consul, but I’d much rather stay in my house. And thank you for inquiring, Spiro, I know you mean well, even if I have already told you I do not wish to leave”, Louisa looks at her sadly, “my dears, cheer up, you’ve just got married!”, Louisa and Spiros look at each other lovingly and kiss. Gerry makes a smirk: “more lipstick…”. They all laugh.
  * They leave to go and deposit the form with the nearby Greek authorities. The British consul keeps his word and processes Spiros and Louisa’s British license that same day. He cables it to several British offices which, in turn, will be sending it to all British offices around the world. He also sends it to all local Greek authorities on Corfu island as well as to the main offices in Athens.

  * Spiros smiles: “I guess we are all hungry now. Let’s go to our house and fetch some lunch”. Spiros drives Louisa, the countess, and the Petridis to the house, then he returns to town to pick up the Durrell children. At home him and Louisa make Greek and British food. Bifteki and meat pies, with plenty of horiatiki salada and taramosalada. They all enjoy their lunch together. Louisa and Spiros keep cooing very lovingly. Their interactions are so beautifully natural that it seems her PTS is gone. Dr. Petridis smiles: “it is so nice to see you doing so well, Louisa”, the countess smiles too: “yes, you look so happy today, my dear”, she smiles at them: “well it is thanks to the two of you, doctors, that I am feeling so much better now. I will never be grateful enough for all you have done for me”, Dr. Petridis smiles: “our job was made easier by the hard work of our patient…”, the countess nods: “…and her very dedicated partner”. Louisa looks at Spiros very lovingly: “the best support I could have ever hoped for”, he smiles at her sweetly: “anything for the girl of my dreams”, Florence smiles: “Spiro, the usual romantic…”, Margot smiles: ‘well, today it’s allowed!”, Larry smirks: “indeed!”, Gerry chuckles: “not that these two need our permission, really”. They all smile sweetly as Louisa and Spiro exchange a long kiss. 
  * At the end of the lunch Spiros and Louisa serve Greek coffee with one of Louisa’s famous cakes for dessert. The countess reaches for a bag she had with her all along and takes out two bottles of champagne: “to celebrate our newlyweds!”.
  * They sit around chatting very amicably for a good part of the afternoon, then Dr. Petridis moves to get up: “I am afraid we need to leave now. I am to see two patients in less than an hour”, Spiros gets up: “let me drive you home”, Leslie smiles: “Spiro, I don’t mind doing that, if you prefer to stay here with Mrs. Halikiopoulou”, Spiros makes one of his famous big happy smiles: “that’s very nice of you Leslie. Of course I am always happy to be by my beloved”, Louisa looks at Leslie with stern gaze: “I know what this is all about, son. You are skipping out of helping with the clean up!”, Gerry smirks: “yea, that’s pretty clear, brother. You will have to pay it back!”, Spiros laughs: “how sneaky, taking advantage of my fondness for his mother!”, Margot smiles sweetly: “well, that’s not hard to do, Spiro”, Leslie smirks: “we did allow you to take her from us today, after all”, Louisa looks at him cross: “allow? Aren’t I old enough to _allow_ myself?”, Spiros smiles naughtily: “old?!?”, she looks even more cross now: “that’s not what I meant!”, he kisses her sweetly: “gosh, I’d better change the topic of this conversation before you apply for divorce!”, they all laugh, the countess smiles sweetly: “so unlikely!”, Florence nods: “indeed!”, Larry chuckles: “I wouldn’t _allow_ that!”, they all laugh again, then Leslie drives off with their guests.

  * That evening. Spiros and Louisa are lying in bed, hugging tenderly: “good evening my beloved Mrs. Halikiopoulou”, “good evening my beloved groom”, he looks at her with loving eyes: “how does it feel?”, she looks at him very lovingly: “simply marvelous. How about you? It must feel peculiar to have another Mrs. Halikiopoulou”, he looks perplexed now: “what’s peculiar is that you’d put it like that, my love, what do you mean? Does it bother you that I was married before?”, she answers sweetly: “no, not really, I was married before too, after all. But it does feel strange to think of myself as Mrs. Halikiopoulou when only a few months ago I called Dimitra that way”, “well, I must admit it feels a bit strange, but it doesn’t change the fact that I am so very happy that _you_ are Mrs. Halikiopoulou now, Louisa”, she looks at him lovingly and speaks with soft voice: “I am very happy too, love”, they kiss softly, “does it feel strange that you are not Mrs. Durrell anymore?”, “honestly? Yes, it does. It was my name for 28 years, after all. But I will be very happy to get used to my new surname…”, he smiles sweetly: “for years you couldn’t even pronounce my surname”, she laughs softly: “oh, that is so true, and now I love it so much!” they kiss tenderly, “and I will make sure I correct my fellow English speakers when they mispronounce it”, he smiles sweetly: “the way you used to, my love, and I loved that. I found it so sweet, I found _you_ sweet and the mispronunciation very endearing”, she looks at him with loving eyes, then whispers: “then I shall keep mispronouncing it!”. They smile at each other very sweetly.
  * He leans towards her lips. She reaches for his. They kiss. He begins touching her body, reaching under her pajamas with his hands. She moans, then she undoes his pajamas’ string and reaches for his erection, “Mr. Halikiopoulos, I am finding quite the ‘equipment’ here”, he reaches for her sex with his fingers and begins stimulating her gently, she moans, “my equipment is longing for yours, Mrs. Halikiopoulou”, they both laugh quietly. She pulls his trousers down and his T-shirt over his head. He takes her pajamas off and begins kissing her body. He leaves a trailer of soft kisses all along her neck, placing a gentle suck at the crook of her neck which elicits a deeper moan from her. He then reaches her breasts and sucks on her nipples until they are hard and very sensitive. He then continues down her body until he reaches her thighs. He parts them and kisses and licks her inner thighs, all the way up to her sex. Here he continues with initially soft, then increasingly deeper licks that cause extensive moaning. She is now holding his head in between her thighs while he continues with his oral stimulation and gently massages her clitoris with his thumb. Meanwhile he is rubbing his pulsating erection against her legs, becoming harder and harder, “mm, Mrs. Halikiopoulou, we may have to consume our marriage right now. I can’t resist you anymore”, she laughs softly: “it’s ‘consummate’, my love”, he smiles sweetly as he continues stimulating her: “let’s consummate then, my beloved bride”. She reaches for his torso, pulls him up to her face for a deep sensual kiss, and helps him into her, then whispers softly: “welcome in, Mr. Halikiopoulos, I hope you will enjoy your visit”, he kisses her sweetly: “I know I will, but only when my cherished hostess receives her enjoyment”, he begins moving on her. They stop talking now, they are both moaning. She closes her eyes, enjoying the sensations he is giving her. He keeps moving, slowly at first, then more deeply and more urgently. She follows his movements with her pelvis, her legs around his back. Their moans become increasingly more intense until they come together with deep sighs. 
  * Afterwards they are quiet, hugging each other for quite some times, both enjoying the tenderness of this moment. “I love you Mr. Halikiopoulos”, “I love you, Mrs. Halikiopoulou”. They kiss. They fall asleep, hugging. 

  * Friday: they all get up early again to go to the Greek church for Louisa’s Greek baptism. The children are all waiting downstairs. Larry has his usual folder with the paperwork. Margot is looking up the stairs: “they are late. Do you think we should call them in their room?”, Leslie smirks: “I am not walking in there. You never know what you end up witnessing”, Gerry nods: “yea, and once you see it, you can’t unsee it”. They all laugh out loud. Louisa and Spiros open the door to their bedroom and walk downstairs. They are both wearing their nicer clothes even though they are not as dressed up as they were for their wedding the previous day. Louisa is wearing her bathing costume under her clothes. She is also wearing a shawl, which she will put on her head in church. Spiros is carrying a bag with Louisa’s change of clothes and a bathrobe. Spiros smiles: “what was all that laughing? Not teasing your mother, I hope!”, Larry smirks: “not really, at least not only her”, “who else?”, “you, Spiro!”, he laughs: “why? I am not taking a public bath in oily water today. Thankfully I did that at an age I can’t remember”, Louisa makes a tight smile: “and of no shame…”, they all laugh. Spiros hugs her: “so what were you teasing me and your mother about?”, Margot giggles: “nothing, don’t worry”, Spiros looks skeptical: “really?”, Leslie chuckles: “we were just wondering whether we should call you in your bedroom at the risk of…”, Gerry continues: “…seeing things that one would not be able to forget”, Louisa blushes, Spiros laughs: “not just before going to church!”, Larry smirks: “why not, it’s not that you’d have to tell the priest!”, Spiros makes a silly face: “that’s right, Larry! And not that bad an idea, after all. Let’s go back upstairs, love”, he grabs her hand and pretends to lead her back to their bedroom. She blushes and spanks his shoulder: “enough joking, now, let’s go and get this business done. The sooner we get there the sooner it will be over”. They all laugh and leave the house.
  * Larry drives them all to the church, then he picks up the Petridis and the countess. When they get to the church Florence looks at Louisa smiling: “all ready?”, “not really…”, Florence laughs, then she covers her mouth with her hands: “so sorry! I had promised myself I wouldn’t laugh, Louisa”, Spiros smiles: “yea, maybe after the fact, not before”, Louisa laughs. A tense laugh: “let’s just get this done, please, then we can all have a good laugh over lunch”. They walk into the church. There is a large brass tub in the middle, already partly filled with water. The priest approaches them: “hello Mrs. Durrell, we are ready here”, “thank you”, “I am assuming you prefer the English ceremony”, “if possible yes, but I’d be fine even with the Greek, whichever is quicker”, “fine, it will be the English rite then. Who is the godmother?”, Florence, fighting hard to hold back a laugh, answers: “me!”, “Mrs. Petridi, are you a baptized Greek orthodox?”, “yes, I did that before I married my husband, here is the certification”, the priest looks at it: “yes, it is all in order. It was my predecessor who did it”, Florence nods: “that’s correct. It was before you came to Corfu, father”. 
  * The countess approaches the priest: “may I have a word, before you begin?”, the priest smiles: “of course, countess”, “I ask that you treat what I am going to say as highly confidential”, “of course, countess”, she continues: “as you may know, I am Louisa’s psychiatrist and I am treating her for Post-Traumatic Stress. She is at a stage that she can take only limited contacts from men without having a panic attack. As you perform the rite you should be aware of that and avoid touching her back. You can touch her arms and head/face but you should let Florence do the rest of her body”, Spiros puts his arm around Louisa’s shoulders: “thank you, doctor, I appreciate your concern”, the priest nods: “thank you for the information, Dr. Mavrodaki. I will act accordingly and I will be careful to avoid triggering an attack”.

  * The priest begins the rite. The first part has Louisa and Florence standing on one side of the tub and the priest standing on the other side, chanting in old Greek, reading from his book. During this part, he also blesses a little bottle with the oil that will be used for the actual christening. Then he points at the tub. Louisa blushes really hard. She removes her clothes and hands them to Florence who then passes them to Spiros. She is wearing her very covering bathing costume and looks very, very, embarrassed. She looks at Spiros. He winks at her and smiles sweetly. She smiles back, a tense smile, then she steps into the brass tub. At that point, the priest pours in the oil and asks her to sit. She does, very blushed. The priest and Florence smear the oily water all over her body, including her hair. The priest only smears her head and arms. Florence does the rest of her body. All the while the priest chants, celebrating the rite of baptism, including pouring more of the oily water onto her head. Then Louisa can finally step out of the tub. Florence hands her the bathrobe which she quickly and happily wears. Then the priest chants, reading again from his book, and celebrates the end of the ceremony. A very relieved Louisa is now officially a Greek Orthodox.
  * As soon as the ceremony is over, Louisa goes to a back room where she can change into her regular clothes again. When she walks out, Spiros approaches her and whispers to her ear: “I preferred you with less clothes on, my love”, she smiles: “stop being silly, love, the priest may be listening”, “yea he may decide that even if you are a Greek Orthodox now, we are too sinful for a church wedding”, “after all that I have done, I really, really, want this church wedding now!”, he smiles sweetly: “me too, I can’t wait for that day, my love”, they kiss. Dr. Petridis and Dr. Mavrodaki see that coming and step in, to place themselves in the line of sight of the priest. The priest doesn’t see the kiss, but everybody else does. Florence approaches them, laughing: “enough smooching, lovers. That is a big no, no, in Greek churches, especially before two are actually married in church”. Louisa blushes. Spiros laughs. They all walk outside.
  * Spiros smiles: “we’d like to invite you all for lunch at our house now, but we need to have a quick chat with the priest first”, he puts his arm around Louisa’s lower back and they walk back into the church. As they are walking they kiss again, just before entering the church, Larry laughs: ‘those two really are shameless sinners”, Florence smiles: “yes, hopeless, but very sweet”, Margot agrees: “very romantic”, the countess smiles: “nothing wrong with that!”, Larry smirks: “of course not, as long as the priest agrees to marry them now!”, Gerry chuckles: “well, it’d make no difference, really. They already coo all day. I can’t see any room for further increases”, they all laugh. In that moment Louisa and Spiros walk out of the church. They are both smiling, the countess inquires: “so do we have a date?”, Louisa makes a happy smile: “yes, Sunday, the 19th of March, 1939”, “excellent news. Worth celebrating!”, they walk back to the car, then Spiros drives Louisa, the Petridis, and the countess to the house while the Durrell siblings walk back.
  * Back at the house, Louisa looks at her guests: “I need a few minutes, if you don’t mind, to wash and remove this oil from myself. I have never had such oily hair!”, they all laugh. The countess smiles: “but you are not allowed to just let the wash water go down the drain!”, Louisa looks puzzled: “why not?”, Florence chuckles: “because it is holy water!”, Louisa remarks: “well I am most certainly not drinking it!”, they all laugh, Spiros hugs and kisses her: “no need to, my love. We will just pour it in the garden. It is very good for flowers. Just don’t drain the bathtub when you are done washing and we will take care of that later”. Louisa goes upstairs. In the meanwhile Spiros prepares a few quick mezes and serves them with ouzo. They all sit around the kitchen table and have a good time.
  * Louisa returns downstairs then her and Spiros prepare an Indian meal, which they all enjoy. The countess makes a satisfied face: “this was delicious. I can’t remember when I last ate such good Indian food”, Louisa smiles: “thank you countess. We often eat Indian food in our household. We were all born in India after all. I have actually spent most of my life there. Even Spiro has been learning Indian cooking from us”, “yes, it is way tastier than the bland British cuisine”, Dr. Petridis smiles: “I couldn’t agree more”, Florence looks sulky, her husband notices that and looks at her sweetly: “sorry my dear, but it is the truth”, then he kisses her. Spiros looks contrite now: “sorry Mrs. Petridi, I did not mean to offend you. Of course British food CAN be tasty, at times”, she smiles, then laughs: “no worries, Spiro, I actually agree with you. Indian food is much tastier and even Greek food is much more nostimo* than English food. I have been here long enough that I have no problem acknowledging that” they all laugh. The countess intervenes: “next time I will make French food”, Margot smiles happily: “I’d love that! French food is very delicious!”, Leslie makes a disgusted face: “as long it’s not escargot, I can’t stand the idea”, Gerry laughs: “why not? Mollusks are made mostly of proteins, just like any other meats”, Larry nods: “and snails can be quite tasty when made the French way”, Leslie looks unconvinced: “well, not for me, thank you very much!”. The countess smiles: “fine, fine, I get it. No escargot for you Leslie, then”. They all laugh. They are all having a good time. Even the countess, who usually doesn’t like being away from her house, looks very relaxed. It seems that those therapy sessions have benefited the patient as well as the doctor. At the end of the meal Spiros and Louisa serve a mix of Greek, English, and Indian desserts. The countess has two bottles of champagne even today: “to celebrate the new member of the local church!”.

(*trnsl: nostimo = tasty)

  * Later, Spiros drives their guests home. He drops the countess off last: “countess, Louisa and I would be really happy if you joined us and my parents at our house for Christmas lunch”, “oh, I don’t know, Spiro. Christmas is such a family celebration”, “and we consider you part of our family, now, countess”, she smiles: “that is very sweet, Spiro, but I think I will decline your invitation”, he looks worried now: “please countess, Louisa will be angry with me if I can’t convince you!”, she smiles: “oh that is so not true, Spiro. She will never be truly angry with you, she loves you very much!”, he smiles sweetly: “she still knows how to scold me and make me do things her way”, “well that’s natural, isn’t it? Women just know better!”, they both laugh, “true and she really wants you to join us for Christmas. I know it would make her very happy, and it would make me happy too”, she smiles: “fine, fine, you have convinced me. I can’t let you get into trouble with your newlywed wife because of me”, he winks: “excellent, I appreciate that! Then we will pick you up on the morning of the 25th”, she smiles: “sounds good! You should go back home now. You still have a bathtub full of oily water to empty…”, he laughs: “indeed!”. He helps the countess off the car and into her house, then he drives back.

  * That evening Spiros and Larry play Christmas songs with their guitars in the living room and they all sing along. Louisa sits at the small table by the window, with writing material. After a while Spiros takes a break from the playing and singing and approaches her, she laughs: “careful, Spiro! I have already written several cards, don’t spoil them!”, he chuckles: “that bloody ink is out again, eh?”, she smiles sweetly: “yes love, I am inviting the British consul and his wife over for tea after Christmas. I was thinking of Wednesday the 28th. I am inviting also the judge and Georgia, Alecko and Irene, the Stephanides, and the Petridis. He approaches her very, very, carefully. He slowly bends down and reaches for her lips. He gives her a soft kiss: “nice idea, my love”, she smiles sweetly: “happy to see that you are being much more careful this time”, “well, you did scold me when I spilled ink on your letter the last time”, she laughs: “and it worked, I wish my children responded to scolding so well!”, Larry smirks: “hey, hey, leave us out of your marital rows, mother!”. They all laugh.
  * Then she continues: “as I was writing these I had an idea. Why don’t we hold a New Year’s Eve party here? We could invite all of our friends”, the children and Spiros all look happy at the idea, Margot smiles happily: “such a lovely idea, mother, let’s do that!!”, “excellent, then let’s all think of the people we want to invite”. They all begin listing names while Louisa writes them on a piece of paper, then she smiles: “very good, this will be fun!”, Margot nods: “we need to send the invitations soon”, Louisa smiles: “it will be even sooner if you all help. We can each write some”. They all sit around the table. Louisa assigns a few names from the list to each of them and they all begin writing the invitations. After a while they are all done, except Spiros, who has already written several cards and still has a few to write: “how come I was assigned so many more than the rest of you?”, Gerry smirks: “Just very lucky, Spiro!”, Leslie chuckles: “it’s called marital duties”, Spiros makes a naughty smile: “no, Leslie, those are much more fun, believe me!”, Larry makes a smirk: “and this is the price to pay for the fun”, they all laugh. Louisa blushes: “enough silly jokes, now!”, then she looks at Spiros smiling sweetly: “it’s because you got all of the invitations that need to be written in Greek, love”, he pretends to be upset and makes a silly sulking baby face with big puppy eyes: “I thought you knew better than using my own language against me, my beloved bride”, she laughs and gives him a soft kiss: “a small price to pay, my dear groom…”, Larry smirks: “…in exchange for those other fun duties”. They all laugh.
  * Spiros sits back on his chair and smiles: “well, I am done writing. Does it mean I get to take you upstairs now, my love?”, he gets up and grabs her hand. She really blushes now: “enough teasing!”, he laughs and gently pulls her up from her chair, “careful to the ink!”, he smirks: “I am, very careful, you be careful too, please”, Margot laughs, grabs the ink bottle, and closes the lid: “disaster averted!”. They all laugh. Louisa is standing now. He pulls her towards him and wraps her in his arms. She hugs him. They kiss. A long kiss. Their bodies very close to each other’s in a tight hug. Margot smiles: “it does look like the next step will involve going upstairs”, Gerry smirks: “I sure do hope it won’t be implemented here, in front of minors!”, the children laugh while Spiros and Louisa continue kissing. Then, still holding her in his arms, Spiros laughs: “you dirty minded English children! Shame on you for saying such things on the day your mother is so holy!”, she laughs too: “holy? I am sure you meant to say oily, love”, they all laugh, he smiles sweetly at her: “as holy as Aphrodite, the Greek Goddess of beauty and love”, and he kisses her lovingly. Larry chuckles: “I am pretty sure the priest would object to that very pagan interpretation of christening”. They all laugh.
  * Then Spiros picks his guitar up and begins playing and singing very romantic Greek songs, all the while walking slowly around Louisa and gazing at her with loving eyes. Throughout, she smiles at him sweetly. The children listen quietly. He is a good singer and the songs are quite nice. After several songs, he puts his guitar down. Him and Louisa hug and kiss again. A long sensual kiss. Then Spiros takes her hand and leads her upstairs: “good night English children, I am stealing your mother”, Louisa blushes: “good night, children”, Larry laughs naughtily: “not as good as your night, mother!”, Margot laughs too: “good night, lovers!”. They leave. Leslie looks at his siblings: “so who’s the dirt mind now?”, Gerry smirks: “dirty? Oily mind!”, Larry chuckles: “and not so holy!”, they all laugh, smile sweetly, then they play a game.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So for the British wedding ceremony I have looked up the wording on line and found various versions. Here I have used a combination of those.  
For the Greek baptism I have drawn upon my memories of attending two Greek baptisms. One many years ago in Greece and one more recently in a Greek Orthodox church in North America. So all imprecisions are due to my faulty memory... ;-)


	21. Christmas 1938

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Christmas preparations and Christmas celebrations.  
A mix of British and Greek. As it should be....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Today's Greeks celebrate Christmas on December 25th, like the other Christian religions. I think this makes them the exception among the various Christian Orthodox churches, which instead celebrate Christmas on January 7th. The different dates have something to do with following the Julian vs the Gregorian calendar.  
I honestly don't know whether in the 30ties the Greek church celebrated Christmas on December 25th or on January 7th. I've made it be December 25th in this story.

  * Saturday morning. Spiros and Louisa wake up early. They cuddle in bed for a while, hugging and cooing very tenderly. Then they make love, also very lovingly. Then they lay in bed again, relaxing and cooing. “I love you”, “I love you, too”. This has become a routine on their weekend mornings. They really enjoy these very tender moments. “Mrs. Halikiopoulou, what do you think, shall we get up?”, “mmm, let’s wait a bit. I so love laying here, cuddling with you, Mr. Halikiopoulos”, “me too, my sweet wife”. They kiss sweetly and remain in bed several more minutes. When they finally get up, they decide to take a bath together. That is always fun. Very tender and very sensual. They often do that on weekends and they often end up making love in the tub. They do it even today: “my beloved husband, you are quite insatiable today”, he smiles at her naughtily: “so are you my love”. They smile sweetly, then they finish washing and they get ready for the day. 

  * After breakfast, they drive to town together to buy groceries for Christmas’ lunch. It is their first Christmas together and they quite enjoy planning for it. Many people are at the market doing their Christmas shopping. Louisa and Spiros join the crowd, each carrying a large basket, “you should stay near me, love, to avoid accidental contacts with men”, “I will make sure that won’t happen my love. No men other than me shall come near you”, she laughs: “I did not realize you were such a jealous and possessive husband, my love”, he makes a silly face: “of course! And any excuse is good to stay near you, my love”. They look at each other sweetly and kiss. Then they begin their shopping. Louisa is looking for either a turkey or a goose to make a traditional English Christmas meal. It proves rather difficult. They cannot find any geese or turkeys, but they do eventually find pheasants, and they buy two, “this would have been way easier in Chicago. Before Thanksgiving and Christmas, turkeys were being sold everywhere”, “well, I am happy we have found pheasant in the end. I actually like its meat better than turkey’s and it is fairly traditional for Christmas in England”, he puts his arm around the small of her back and whispers in her ear: “if my beloved English wife is happy, I am happy too”, she smiles sweetly at him, they exchange a kiss.
  * “We should also make Greek food, to make sure your parents won’t feel we are violating their traditions”, “oh, more meats, then, we should get sausages and either pork or lamb for a roast”, “Gerry won’t like it. Even if he is eating meat again, he still thinks it’s a very barbaric thing to do”, “we can make also some vegetable dishes. That should make him happy”, “and healthier for the rest of us”, Spiros nods: “we should also make avgolemono”, “mm I love that but I am not good at making it. I always end up with curdled eggs when I add the lemon, no matter how slowly and carefully I do that”, “yes, that’s the difficult bit. There is a trick, love. I will show it to you”, “oh, I need chestnuts too”, “those are easy to find. It’s chestnut season. What do you need them for?”, “for the stuffing for the pheasant. I have already saved some older bread for it”, “good thing you mentioned bread! We need to make Christopsomo. My parents would really complain if we did not have it!”, “good thing you remembered then, love”.
  * “We also need other deserts. Christmas pudding with brandy and vanilla butter and mince pies coated with icing sugar can’t be missing”, “Christopsomo, melomakarona and kourabiedes for the Greeks”, “mmm I love kourabiedes!”, “you have become more Greek than you like to admit”, she smiles sweetly: “I actually do like to admit it, especially now that I am a nyfi”, “the sweetest Greek bride I could wish for”, they look at each other lovingly, then they hug tightly and kiss. A long and very public kiss, in the middle of the market square.

(nyfi = bride)

  * Florence and Dr. Petridis are also at the market doing their own grocery shopping. He laughs: “guess who is here and guess what they are up to?”, “who?”, “Spiros and Louisa”, “oh, then they must be smooching!”, he laughs: “exactly!”, he points in their direction. She sees them and laughs, then she smiles: “well, that is actually very sweet”, the doctor smiles too: “yes, watching those two really does give one diabetes”. They approach them, laughing, Florence smirks: “here are our unrepented sinners”, Louisa and Spiros stop kissing, but keep hugging, Spiros smiles: “proudly so!”, then he kisses a very blushed Louisa again. They let go of each other and turn towards their friends: “so nice to see you!”, Louisa and Florence hug, Dr. Petridis smiles: “enjoying your Christmas shopping?”, Spiros smirks: “indeed! As you have just witnessed, we are enjoying it very much”, they all laugh.
  * Louisa smiles: “it’s our first Christmas together and we are essentially planning for two big meals, trying to follow both English and Greek traditions”, “we used to do the same thing, but I eventually gave up on the English traditions. We just have Greek food with my in-laws now”, Louisa smiles: “well Greek food is very delicious”, “it is! And I could never find turkey or goose anyway. I always ended up making stuffed chicken, which is not quite the same thing”, “indeed it isn’t! I couldn’t find turkey or goose either, so I’ve settled for pheasants”, Florence’s interest is suddenly piqued: “oh that’s even nicer meat, who sells those?”, “that man over there. He even sells chestnuts for the stuffing. I think he is Albanian. His Greek is even worse than mine!”, “your Greek is improving dramatically, love”, “that’s because I have the best teacher”, “…with the sweetest student”, they look at each other lovingly and kiss again, “while you smoochers are at it again, I will run and see whether he still has a pheasant!”, Dr. Petridis smiles: “it seems the British traditions are back into our house!”, and follows his wife, carrying a large basket: “see you later and kala’ Christougenna to you and your families!”, Louisa waves her hand: “charoumena Christougenna to you!”.

(trnsl: kala’ = good; Christougenna = Christmas; charoumena = happy)

  * Later, Spiros and Louisa return home. Larry is sitting on the veranda. He gets up to help unload the car: “you have bought enough food for a battalion!”, they laugh, “yes, to make sure we follow both Greek and English traditions”, “this should keep my parents happy”, “and that is paramount, until the two of you finally abandon your sinful life and do the proper nuptials in the Greek orthodox church”, Louisa smirks: “well at least the baptism ordeal is done”, Spiros looks puzzled: “nuptials?”, “it’s another word for wedding, love, just not as common”, Larry nods: “yea it’s of Latin origin”, “oh I had never heard it, thank you Larry, I always learn new words from you”, Leslie smirks: “that’s because he likes to use very uncommon words so that he can sound clever”, Margot chuckles: “more than he actually is”, Larry looks cross: “ignorant siblings”. They all laugh.
  * Louisa smiles: “enough bickering now, we need to make sweets for tomorrow. Leslie nods: “that’s easy, Spiros can make the Greek sweets and mother can make the English sweets” Larry agrees: “good idea, this way they will all be wonderful because the master in each culture will have made them”, “actually, I’d like to learn how to make Christopsomo, melomakarona and kourabiedes”, “and I’d like to learn how to make Christmas pudding and mince pies”. Louisa smiles: “then we should prepare the sweets together, love”, he hugs her: “always happy to do things with you, my beloved wife”, they kiss.
  * Louisa turns towards her children with a sneer: “somehow that plan does not involve any of you actually giving a hand!”, the children all laugh. Leslie smirks: “that’s because the two of you are such great cooks!”, “that flattering won’t work, son, if you don’t help with the cooking then you will help with the clean up!”, “fair enough, mother, I will do that”, Larry agrees: “me too!”, Gerry smiles: “instead, I’d like to help with the cooking”, “so that you can scrounge food off the table, baby?”, “I am not a baby!”, they laugh, “I actually like cooking, you know that mother. And, yes, I’d like to give the leftovers to my animals. They need to celebrate Christmas too”, Spiros smiles: “that’s fair enough, Gerry, come with me, I have a surprise for you. I was going to wait until tomorrow, but, we might as well…”. Gerry follows him, curious. Spiros leads him to the shed in the garden, near his animal enclosures. Inside there are several bags of food for his animals; [i] dried fish and shrimp for the otters, the flamingos, the pelicans, and the seagull; [ii] tinned meat for the owl and Gerry’s several insects and spiders; and [iii] bags of grains for his talking starlings, magpies, and other birds, “there are also fresh fish and shrimp in the ice box”. Gerry is very excited. He hugs Spiros: “thank you so much, Spiro, you are fantastic!!”, Spiros hugs him back: “Merry Christmas, to the numerous members of the Gerald Durrell’s zoo!”. Louisa is watching from the house door, smiling sweetly. 

  * Then they all go back to the house and prepare the Christmas sweets. Gerry and Margot help with the cooking. A couple of hours later, Louisa glances around the kitchen with a satisfied look: “excellent job, we only need to prepare the brandy and vanilla butter for the pudding, then we are done”, Margot smiles: “I can take care of that. She takes the butter and puts it on the cooker top to soften. Meanwhile Spiros is looking at Louisa with very loving eyes. The evening sun is shining on her through the window. She is wearing her apron and she has several flour marks on her face and dress. Spiros is transfixed: “my love you look so beautiful right now!”, she looks in the mirror and laughs: “beautiful? My hair is all undone and I have flour all over me”, “and that is true beauty. I love it… and I love you!”, she smiles sweetly: “I love you too”, they hug and kiss. Margot smiles: “aww, you two are always so sweet!”. Louisa chuckles: “sweet maybe, but we do need a bath now”, Spiros seems surprised: “another?”, “I am covered in flour and so are you, love!”, then she turns towards the children: “Larry, Leslie, it’s your turn to clean up, now”. Louisa and Spiros smile at each other, then they go upstairs, holding hands. Larry makes a mischievous smirk: “I have a funny feeling they will bathe together”, Gerry chuckles: “oh, then it will be an extra-long bath”, Leslie smirks: “hope none of you needs the loo urgently”, Margot smiles: “good thing the old outhouse is still there”. They all laugh.
  * Meanwhile, Louisa and Spiros do, indeed, take a bath together and it does end up being an extra-long bath. They coo sweetly in the hot water and make love again. 

  * Sunday, 25 December, 1938. In the morning Louisa, Spiros and all of the Durrell children are busy preparing food for the big Christmas meal. Louisa makes a happy smile: “things are moving along nicely; the meats are all in the oven. They should be ready in 3 hours. We just need to keep the fire going in the wood burning cooker”, Spiros smiles: “excellent, in 2 hours from now we should put in even the vegetables”, Margot nods: “the potatoes are peeled and in water. We will cut and season them later”, Louisa smiles: “the eggplants are already roasted and peeled, to make melitzanosalada”, Spiros continues: “and the tzatziki is ready, in the ice box”, “very good, I am also roasting hot peppers to make tirokafteri”, “I am impressed with how many Greek recipes you have learned, my love”, “well, I’ve learned a few over our years in Greece and my learning has spiked in the past few months, for some reason”, he makes a sulking baby facial expression, with big puppy eyes: “_some_ reason?”, she laughs sweetly: “the _best_ of reasons, my beloved husband”. They hug and kiss. Then Louisa finishes preparing the melitzanosalada and Spiros makes the tirokafteri. She peels the whole roasted eggplants, then uses a marble kitchen pestle and mortar to mash the eggplants and the garlic, then she adds olive oil, salt, and lemon juice. Meanwhile Spiros peels the roasted hot peppers, then he mashes feta cheese and the peppers, with olive oil. Then they clean up the kitchen and the dirty dishes. Later, they prepare the rest of the vegetables and put them in the oven, near the meats. Spiros smiles: “they should be ready in about an hour”.
  * Louisa smiles: “time to get ready and change these clothes, love”, she turns towards her children: “while Spiro and I change you should prepare the table”, after they leave the room, Gerry smirks: “another extra-long bath?”, they laugh as they lay a tablecloth embroidered with Christmas decorations. Then they take out the nicer plates and glasses and finish preparing the table. Larry adds two candles and a few Christmas decorations: “for the final touch”. Louisa and Spiros actually wash and change fairly quickly. They join the children in the kitchen, Louisa makes a happy smile: “this looks very nice! Time to pick up our guests now!”, Larry offers: “happy to do that, if you wish!”, Spiros smiles: “thank you Larry!”. Larry grabs the key from the usual shelf and drives to Spiros’ parents first, then to the countess. 

  * The guests arrive. Louisa smiles happily: “kalosoriste sto spiti mas, kala’ Christougenna!”, the countess replies: “kala’ Christougenna se olous!”, Spiros’ mother and father smile: “Merry Christmas!”, they all look surprised that they’d say it in English. Spiros’ mother smiles at Larry: “icha enan kalo’ daskalo”, Larry laughs: “I’ve just told them in the car”, the countess nods: “and they picked it up very quickly”. Louisa smiles: “elate na fame. To fagito’ ine etoimo”. They all sit at the table and Spiros and Louisa serve the food. First, they all have a few mezes, which include pieces of sausage, meatballs, olives, feta cheese, and bread. Then Louisa and Spiros get up and serve the avgolemono. Spiros mother seems impressed: “to kanate afto’, Louisa? Ine diskolo!”, she blushes: “to xero, den boro’ na to kano. To lemoni to chalaei panta. Spiro to ekane”, Spiros looks at her sweetly: “tora xeris pos na to kanis. Tin epomeni fora’ tha to kanoume mazi’, agapi mou”, he hugs her, they kiss. After the soup, they serve the meats, stuffed pheasants and roast lamb shank, with several salads and vegetables. Spiros’ mother laughs: “ine poly’ fagito’!”, Louisa chuckles: “nai, kaname elleniko’ kai angliko’ christougenniatiko fagito’!”, Spiros smiles: “tora o kathenas prepi na fai gia dyo atoma!”, Gerry chuckles: “enas Elinas che enas Anglos”, Margot rebuts him: “i’ mia Elliniki’ kai mia Angliki’, adelphos”, Gerry blushes: “nai, lypame kyries”. They all laugh. Spiros’ father smiles: “to fasianos ine para poly’ nostimo. Mou aresi angliko’ christougenniatiko fagitó”, Louisa blushes: “efcharisto’ poly’, ime eftychismeni pou sas aresei afto’ to fagito’”, Spiros puts his hand around her waist and kisses her tenderly: “to kalytero mageira”, they all smile and the countess adds: “kai to arni’ ine poly’ nostimo”, Louisa smiles then kisses Spiros: “to kalytero mageira!”.

(trnsl: welcome to our home; Merry Christmas; Merry Christmas to all; I had a good teacher; come and eat. Food is ready; have you made this? It is difficult; I know, I can’t make it. The lemon always ruins it. Spiro has made this; now you know how to make it. Next time we will make it together, my love; it is a lot of food!; yes, we made Greek and English Christmas food; now everyone has to eat for two people; yes, one Greek and one English (he uses he masculine form); and one Greek and one English, brother (she uses the feminine form); yes, sorry ladies; the pheasant is very tasty. I like English Christmas food; thank you very much, I am happy that you like the food; the best cook; the lamb is also very tasty; the best cook)

  * Larry smirks: “now you know why we are all putting on weight!”, “they all laugh, except the Haliopoulos”, Louisa notices: “lypame pou den paratirisame oti o Larry milise anglika’”, Larry blushes: “lypame, ipa gia afto’ echoume pachynsi!”, Spiros’ parents both laugh, then Spiros’ mother smiles sweetly: “den pirasi an milate anglika’. Ine i glossa sas. Tora pou echoume mia angliki’ nyfi, prepi na mathoume anglika’!”. They all look surprised at such opening towards the English culture, Spiros smiles: “tha echete polles efkairies sto mellon”, Spiros’ father nods: “kai ta pedia’ miloun panta anglika’, idika’ i Katherini”. They all smile. Spiros agrees: “nai, i mikri’ emathe poly’ kala’ kai poly’ grigora. Milai san mia angliki’ tora”, Gerry adds: “kai o Mihali milai poly’ kala anglika’, den echi kamia emfasi”, Louisa frowns: “ego ime i cheiroteri tis oikogeneias!”, Spiros looks at her sweetly: “den ine alithia!”, then he kisses her lovingly. She smiles and she returns his kiss: “efcharisto’, agapi mou, ise poly’ glykos anthropos”, Spiros father smiles: “o elliniko sas ine poly’ kalos!” Spiros’ mother agrees: “kalytera apo ta anglika’ mas, nyfi mou”.

(trnsl: I am sorry we did not notice that Larry has spoken in English; sorry, I said that’s why we got fat; it doesn’t matter if you speak English. It is your language. Now that we have an English bride we must learn English; you will have many opportunities in the future; and the children always speak English, especially Katherini; yes, the little one has learned it very well and very quickly. She speaks like an English person now; even Mihali speaks very good English, he has no accent; I am the worst in the family!; that is not true!; thank you, my love, you are a very sweet man; your Greek is very good; better than our English, my bride. Note: in Greece the in laws commonly refer to their daughter in law as ‘their bride’) 

  * The countess inquires: “pos kanoun ta schedia gamou?”, Spiros smiles happily: “poly’ kala’. Prin apo’ liges imeres echoume epliexei to fagito’”, the countess asks: “echete ti thesi?”, “Louisa answers: “ochi acoma”, “I’d be so happy if you were to have your reception at my house, in the gardens”, They all look really surprised, Spiros repeats: “sto spiti sas?”, the countess nods: “nai, tin avli’ mou ine magalo gia polloi anthropoi”, Margot smirks: “kai gynaikes…”, the countess smiles: “yes Margot, men, women, boys, girls and children”. Margot blushes: “sorry, I didn’t mean to scold you, countess”, “it’s actually good you pointed that out, Margot, you are correct, our languages are very sexist!”. She looks at Spiros and Louisa: “so what do you think, my dears?”, Louisa is hesitant: “I don’t know, doctor, it is such an imposition!”, the countess smiles: “but I’d love to, you’d make me very happy if you did your reception in my gardens! I think of you as my family!”, Spiros looks moved: “and we think of you as a member of our family, countess”. Louisa and Spiros look at each other and smile sweetly, then she gets up, approaches the countess and hugs her: “we’d love to, thank you so much, my friend”. She hugs Louisa, then the countess turns towards Spiros’ parents and smiles, ready to translate that conversation. Spiros’ mother smiles: “katalavainoume, eipan nai”. They all smile.

(trnsl: how are the wedding plans coming along?; very well. A few days ago we have chosen the food; do you have a location?; not yet; at your house?; yes, my garden is very big, for many men; and women; we understood, they said yes)

  * After lunch they all sit in the living room, by the fireplace and Spiros, Louisa, and the children serve tea, coffee, and the desserts. One each of christopsomo, melomakarona, kourabiedes, Christmas pudding, and mince pies per plate, Spiros mother laughs: “akomi poly’ fagito’!”, Spiros father agrees: “oloi tha pachainoume!”, Larry chuckles: “nai to xeroume. Afto ine to provlima mas!”. They all laugh. Spiros’ mother smiles: “ta glyka ine poly’ kala’”, Spiros’ father nods: “mou aresei i christougenniatiki poutinka”, Spiros smirks: “gineste anglika’, patera. Sas aresei ta scones, kai i poutinka”. They all laugh, “nai mou aresoun ta anglika’ glyka’!”, Spiros chuckles: “kai to fasiano’!”, his father laughs: “ola ta anglika’ fagita’!”.

(trnsl: a lot of food again!; we will all become fat!; yes we know. This is our problem!; the sweets are very good; I like Christmas pudding; you have become English, father. You like scones and pudding; yes I like English sweets; and the pheasant!; all English foods!)

  * While they are all eating their desserts, Spiros picks up his guitar and begins playing. First, he sings a very romantic Greek song, with a slow rhythm, all the while staring at Louisa. She stares back at him, lovingly. In the end, they all clap while the two of them kiss, “thank you love, that was very sweet”, “the song is sweet but you are much sweeter, nyfi mou”, they kiss again. Then Spiros plays and sings a traditional Greek Christmas song. His parents and the countess sing along. They do a few more Greek songs, then he changes the music and begins: “vive le vent, vive le vent…”, the countess laughs and sings along with beautiful mezzosoprano voice. Larry sings along the French song too. Then Spiros begins yet one more song: “silent night…”, the Durrells all sing along now. Larry gets up and goes to his room. He returns with his own guitar and accompanies Spiros in a nice guitar duet. They continue playing and singing Greek, French, and English songs for a while, all enjoying it. At some point, Gerry picks up Spiros’ guitar and begins playing one of the Greek dances he learned when they all did Greek dance lessons. Spiros gets up, pushes some of the furniture against the walls and takes his mother’s hand, “elate mitera kai patera, as chorepsoume!”, they begin dancing. Louisa, the children and the countess join them too and they all have a good time, dancing in an open circle.

(trnsl: it’s the beginning of the French ‘jingle bells’; come mother and father, let’s dance!)

  * Then Larry changes the music again and begins the Blue Danube Waltz. Spiros approaches Louisa: “our favorite, my love”, he takes her in his arms and they dance beautifully, looking very happy. Gerry invites the countess with a bow and a big smile, she laughs: “sure, why not!”. They begin dancing and she is very good. Leslie bows and invites Spiros’ mother. She laughs: “den xero afton ton choro’”, “den pirasi, tha sas didaxo”, he slowly shows her the steps until she gets them, then they dance to the music. Spiros’ father looks perplexed. Margot approaches him with a smile: “as chorepsoume!”, he laughs, then he leads Margot in the dance. His wife looks surprised: “den ixera oti ixeres afton ton choro’, andra!”, he laughs: “otan imoun neos, prin sas, eicha mia italiki’ fili”, she laughs too: “den to ixera!”, “den boreis na xeris ta panta, gynaika mou!”, they all laugh. The Blue Danube ends. They all stop, then Gerry picks up the guitar and begins playing another waltz. Spiros takes Louisa’s hand and smiles at her sweetly: “one more, agapimeni nyfi mou”, she looks at him with loving eyes: “happily so, agapimeno gampro’ mou”. The others dance too, Spiros’ parents dance together, Leslie invites the countess, who seems to be having a really good time, and Margot and Larry dance together.

(trnsl: I don’t know this dance; it doesn’t matter, I will teach you; let’s dance!; I did not know you knew this dance, husband; when I was young, before you, I had an Italian girlfriend; I did not know that; you can’t know everything, my wife; my beloved bride; my beloved groom)

  * After the dancing, they all play bingo. That is an easy game to play together. All they need to know in Greek are the numbers. They all have a good time, as a happy family. Spiros and Louisa look very happy. They put chestnuts to roast in the fireplace and they keep going back and forth from the kitchen with more food (various nuts, dried figs, oranges, mandarins) and drinks. They are alone in the kitchen. He approaches and wraps her in his arms: “my love, this is all going so well”, she looks at him sweetly: “yes, they all look happy and relaxed. Even the countess seems to be having lots of fun”, “how about you, are you happy?”, she looks at him with her eyes full of love: “very happy, Spiro, especially in this very moment, because you are holding me in your arms”, he looks at her lovingly, then, he whispers with really sweet voice: “I love you”, “I love you”. They hug tightly and kiss. A long love kiss. In that moment, Leslie and Spiros’ mother walk in, carrying dirty dishes. They see the two lovers who are oblivious to their presence. They smile at each other and quietly walk back to the living room, the dirty plates still in their hands. Larry asks: “what?”, Leslie smiles: “guess?”, Margot smiles: “smooching again?”, Leslie smirks: “yup!”. They all laugh, Margot smiles sweetly: “ine panta poly’ romantikes”, Spiros mother agrees: “giati’ ine poly’ erotevmenoi”, Spiros father smiles: “nai ine poly’ charoumenoi mazi’”, the countess agrees: “afta’ ta dyo tha ine panta poly’ charoumeni masi gia ti zoi’ tous”. They all smile. Larry whispers: “all is still silent in the kitchen”, Margot nods: “do you think we can go in now?’, Leslie smirks: “wait, sister. What you find may not be suitable for minors!”. They all laugh, including the countess. Spiros and Louisa appear in the door, their arms around each other’s back, Spiros asks: “giati’ gelas?”, Gerry smirks: “tipota, tipota”, Larry chuckles glancing sideways at Spiros’ parents: “yea, we’d better not translate that…”, they all laugh even more. Louisa looks at her children, blushed: “knowing you, lot, you’d better not!”. More laughs.

(trnsl: they are always very romantic; because they are very in love; yes they are very happy together; those two will be always happy together in their lives; why are you laughing?; nothing, nothing)

  * Later they are all happy and tired, Spiros’ father smiles: “gios, Louisa, olus, afti’ itan mia poly’ kali’ mera, efcharisto’ poly’!”, Spiros’ mother agrees: “nai, krima oti ta paidia den itan edo”, Spiros smiles: “prepi na perasoun chrono me tous allous pappoudes tuos. To epomeno etos tha ine mazi mas gia christougenna”, Spiros’ father nods: “etsi tha ine tora pou ise diazevgmeno, gios mou”, he says that but he does not look upset. They all seem relieved. Spiros father continues: “irthe i ora na pame spiti”. They all say goodbye, then Spiros and Louisa drive them home. Spiros hands her the car keys: “I may have had one drink too many, my love”, she smiles sweetly at him: “only one?”, she laughs, takes the keys, and drives. That seems not to bother Spiros’ parents anymore. That is good news.

(trnsl: son, Louisa, everyone, this was a very good day, thank you very much!; yes, pity the children could not be here; they need to spend time with their other grandparents. Next year they will be with us for Christmas; this is the way it is now that you are divorced, my son; the time to go home has arrived)


	22. New and old friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A very British moment. Tea with friends, old and new.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Developing old friendships and introducing new ones. A shorter chapter, bridging to things to come. :-)

  * Wednesday Dec 28th. The children are all out for work and school. In the morning Louisa and Spiros prepare a selection of their usual English, Indian, and Greek sweets. After lunch, they re-arrange the furniture in the living room to fit a large table for all of their tea invitees. They lay the table with a nice embroidered table cloth, then they put the sweets on it. Then Spiros drives to town. He returns with Florence, Dr. Petridis, the consul, and his wife. Louisa greets them at the door: “welcome to our home! Please come in”, the consul smiles: “nice to see you again, may I introduce my wife Soula?”, nice to meet you Mrs. Halikiopoulou”, “please, do call me Louisa, if you like”, “and me Soula”, they shake hands and smile at each other, “and I must ask that you please keep our marriage confidential. Spiros and I plan to marry by Greek rite in the Spring and we don’t want to ruin that party”, Soula smiles: “yes, of course, I understand”, Louisa smiles too: “let’s all sit down while Spiro returns with our other guests”, they sit on the sofas in the living room and chat amicably for a few minutes, then Louisa gets up: “I’ve heard a honk”, she walks to the door and welcomes Alecko, Irene, the British judge, and Georgia. She leads them all to the living room: “if you’ll excuse me for a moment, I will make sure the kettles are on the cooker. The water for the tea should be ready soon. Meanwhile Spiros drives back to town and shortly afterwards returns with Theo and Maria. They walk in and join the others in the living room, “your favorite taxi driver of Corfu’ is back home, love”, Louisa laughs: “that is not very complimentary, Spiro. You are the _only_ taxi driver in Corfu”, they all laugh, he makes a silly sulky baby face with big puppy eyes: “your favorite by exclusion, then?”, she laughs sweetly: “don’t pretend to be upset, Spiro. You did start it!”, he laughs and makes a mischievous smile: “I know…”, then she walks up to him and kisses him softly. Florence looks at Soula: “this is only the beginning. There usually is some pretty serious smooching going on here”, they all laugh, Maria smiles: “yea, these two never disappoint in that department…”.
  * Louisa blushes and announces: “the water is ready, let’s make tea”, Spiros gets up and helps her. Maria looks at Theo: “see? Spiro is always very helpful, dear…”, he chuckles: “that’s because they are not married yet. He needs to make sure she doesn’t change her mind!”, they all laugh. The consul looks at his wife and the Petridis smiling. He knows they actually are already married and the Petridis were the witnesses, but he keeps his promise of keeping it confidential. Spiros makes a pretend worried face: “yea, one never knows, she has been known to cancel her weddings on the day of”, they all laugh. Georgia looks puzzled: “this may be a story I don’t know”, Florence chuckles: “true story! We all showed up for her wedding with Sven Lundblad and all we had was a dance party”, Spiros laughs: “with me as one of the invitees and musicians!! I was so happy when I learned there was going to be no wedding. I had reasons to hope I was next in line in her marital preferences”, Louisa smiles at him: “you are exaggerating now, my silly. That was more than 3 years ago”, he looks at her very lovingly: “and you had already stolen my heart, Louisa, I just did not tell you back then”, she looks at him lovingly too, they kiss. Maria looks at Soula and the consul: “told you, the smooching is guaranteed with these two”, they all laugh, Louisa blushes.
  * Soula smiles: “may I ask why you canceled that wedding, Louisa? I had heard about it, but I don’t know the whole story”, “well, it’s for reasons that pertain Sven, which I had rather not make public”, the judge nods: “there are potential legal implications”, Alecko agrees: “yea, I’ve heard he has been arrested once”, Florence nods: “that was last year, long after the cancelled wedding”, Georgia gets it: “oh, I’ve heard that! It was for homosexuality. Such an unjust law we have in Greece”, the judge nods: “…and in most countries, including England and his homeland of Sweden, unfortunately. I agree. It is unjust, but when they come to my court, I still have to apply the law. When there is conclusive evidence I cannot exonerate them from the charge. I can only use leniency and apply the smallest possible penalty”, Soula remarks: “so sad…”, Irene agrees: “it must be frustrating when you have to apply a law you disagree with”, the Judge nods: “it is! But sometimes one can make exception for specific cases and that sets precedents, which may then drive changes to the law”, Georgia looks at him sweetly: “and he looks so smug when he does that!”, Georgia and the judge smile at each other and kiss.
  * Spiros continues: “the divorce law is unfair too: “only women’s conjugal infidelity is ground for divorce. A man’s infidelity isn’t. Dimitra had to take the blame for our divorce. That I also had someone else (he is holding Louisa’s hand) did not matter at all. That was very unfair”, the judge agrees: “it was! That’s why I have assigned the custody of your children to both of you. Some of my colleagues may use the infidelity argument to remove the children from the mother”, Louisa seems surprised: “oh that seems very, very, cruel! I am surprised Dimitra would agree to take the blame, then”, Spiros smiles: “well she wanted a divorce too and I promised I’d never take the children away from her, regardless of her legal position”, Louisa still looks surprised: “and she just trusted you?!?”, he smiles at her: “you seem surprised, love. Don’t you think I am trustworthy? Don’t _you_ trust me?”, she laughs and smiles at him sweetly: “of course I do! By marrying you I am entrusting my life and happiness to you, after all. I am just surprised Dimitra would. You have broken up. That’s hardly ground for trust for most couples”, he makes big puppy eyes: “but I am so very handsome!”, she laughs and looks at him sweetly: “true, but I doubt that’s the reason!”. They kiss.
  * Maria smiles: “back to Sven, what I still don’t know is how he got out of jail eventually. There was no trial, wasn’t there?”, the judge nods: “there wasn’t, I can confirm that”, Dr. Petridis adds: “I’ve heard that your children were involved, Louisa, especially Larry”, she laughs: “well he was involved all right, but he did not achieve much more than chaining himself to the filing cabinet in the police station”, Spiros asks: “so how was Sven released in the end?”, she looks at him sweetly: “you may not like the answer to that question, love”, he looks puzzled now, she continues: “I told the superintendent that Sven was not homosexual at all with me, and that we had been very physical when we were engaged to be married”, he laughs: “did you really tell him that? Without your usual blushing, dear?”, she blushes: “oh I know I did blush, but that made my lie more credible”, Florence smiles: “well, I think that was brilliant, Louisa. It got him out of jail and you were the only woman who could credibly make that claim!”, they all laugh. The judge smirks: “I will just ignore the fact that you have just admitted lying to the police”. Louisa looks worried now. The judge smiles: “I mean it, I will ignore that. If I was to act on all of the things I hear in private conversations I’d have a very, very, busy court!”, Alecko smirks: “and I’d be a very rich lawyer!”. They all laugh.
  * Louisa looks at Spiros shyly: “there is one more thing that you may not like. Simply lying about Sven’s sexuality was actually not working. So, I flirted with the superintendent and I promised I’d go out on a date with him”, he looks at her seriously now: “did you date him just for that?”, “of course not, I carefully avoided him after that!”, “but you still flirted with him…”, she looks at him serious now: “I knew you wouldn’t like it”, he thinks for a bit: “well, no harm was done, really”, she reaches for his hand in his lap and smiles at him. She knows he is upset. He is looking away: “no… no harm done…”. Florence can see right through that: “come on, Spiro, the two of you were not even together at that point and she did nothing wrong, really”, Maria steps in too: “she was just helping a friend from a situation caused by an unjust law”, Spiros looks serious: “I know …but why? Do you still love him, Louisa?”, she looks at him sternly: “I do, as a good friend. You know that!”. He sits quietly, sulking. She is still holding his hand. Maria admonishes: “come on, you two, time for a smooch!”, Florence smiles: “yea you must patch this up now, my friends. It’s growing completely out of proportion!”, Spiros looks at Louisa: “sorry, love, I am reacting like a typical possessive man. Of course it was for a good cause and there truly was no harm done”, Florence smirks: “except to the superintendent’s pride”, Louisa looks at Spiros with stern, yet sweet, gaze: “and Spiro’s pride, right now…”, he looks at her: “… I really am acting like an idiot.., aren’t I?”, Louisa smiles at him: “not an idiot, just a jealous man”, “that’s because I love you!” then he looks down: “but I do realize that is no good reason for my reaction”, he looks into her eyes: “I am sorry…”, he leans towards her, she smiles sweetly. They kiss. Florence cheers: “finally!”, Maria smiles: “having to advocate for a smooch with these two, who would have ever thought?”, they all laugh. Spiros and Louisa keep kissing, Florence laughs: “enough now!”, Georgia smiles: “you did ask for it…”, Theo nods: “indeed!”, they all laugh. 

  * They continue chatting for a while, then Louisa gets up: “I have put the kettles on the cooker, earlier. They should be ready by now. I will make fresh tea for anyone who may want more”, Spiros gets up too: “and I will get more sweets”, Louisa smiles: “let’s remove some of these empty serving plates first, then. They pick up the plates and pile them on the tea table by the sofas. The consul sees that they are both far from the rest of them and gets up too: “I hope you will excuse me for a moment, I have some personal consular information for them. He approaches them: “I have good news for you. Your marriage license is fully processed at our end. It has been communicated to all British authorities around the world. I have also officially deposited it with the Greek authorities of Corfu who have already processed and officially deposited the marriage with all Greek register offices. You are now officially Mr. and Mrs. Halikiopoulous for all British and Greek authorities”, Louisa smiles: “thank you for doing it so quickly, consul, we really appreciate it”, Spiros looks at her with very loving eyes: “you are trapped now, my love, there is no escaping me”, she laughs then she replies with sweet voice: “happily so”. They hug and kiss, the consul smiles and walks back to the others. Louisa and Spiros continue kissing. A long kiss. Theo smiles: “whatever you have told them, consul, it seems it was a powerful trigger”, Florence looks in that direction and laughs: “the usual smoochers are back!”, Maria smiles: “always very sweet, it’s nice to see that little upset earlier did not leave much damage”, Theo leans towards her and gives her a kiss: “they’d better get used to that. Those little upsets are the spice of married life”. They all smile. They know. Georgia and the judge kiss too and so do the consul and Soula, and Alecko and Irene. Florence laughs: “careful, those two are known to be contagious”, Dr. Petridis gives her a kiss: “indeed! Good thing that love is one very _dangerous_ contagious disease I am happy to catch!”, they all laugh.
  * Meanwhile Louisa and Spiros are done kissing. They pick up the plates and go to the kitchen. They return shortly and put teapots and plates with more biscuits and sweets on the table. They pour more tea to all of their guests, and pass around the plates: Louisa smiles: “here, have more, Theo, there are Indian sweets you may want to consider for a second round”, he laughs: “I already had two of each”, she smiles: “a third round then”, he happily reaches for the sweets, Maria smirks: “this means there will be only a very light dinner for you tonight, my dear”, he looks at Spiro and laughs: “see what happens after you are married? Total control over you…”, Maria protests: “it’s for your own good!”, he smiles at her sweetly: “I know, dear, I was just joking”, Spiros chuckles: “I appreciate the warning my friend, but I am afraid it is too late. Louisa has already been ‘managing’ me for several months now”, Louisa remarks: “for your own good!”, “I know, I know…”, they smile at each other sweetly. They kiss.

  * The judge comments: “the more I know the two of you, the more I see the ground for your philosophy, Spiro”, Alecko smiles: “our renown Greek Philosopher of Corfu”, he blushes: “oh that misnomer will stick to me forever, now!”, Louisa laughs: “and it’s all because of Larry’s ‘poetic license’, a literary term for ‘lies’!”, Georgia smiles: “well, it is a nice philosophy. I like it!”, Florence nods: “very accurate”, Irene agrees: “and romantic”, Dr. Petridis smiles: “and it applies to all happy couples, us included”, he looks at his wife sweetly, they kiss. The consul agrees: “even to us”, he is looking at Soula lovingly now, she replies: “I agree, I enjoyed reading that article and I could relate very well!”, they kiss too. Theo looks at Maria, puzzled: “it seems we are the only ones who have not read that article”, the consul explains: “it was published in the English paper. Unless you have a subscription, you would not have seen it”. Louisa gets up, leaves the room, and returns shortly with a copy of the paper. Theo and Maria read the article. Then Theo hugs his wife: “this is so well described, Spiro, and it clearly applies to us too”, he kisses Maria. Spiros hugs Louisa: “well, I am happy you all feel it applies to your love stories. It means you are all as happy together as I am with my beautiful English nyfi”, Louisa looks at him lovingly: “and me with my handsome Greek gampro’”, they exchange yet another long kiss.

(trnsl: nyfi – bride; gampro’ = groom)

  * Later they are all leaving. Soula smiles: “thank you for such a lovely afternoon”, Louisa smiles: “I am glad you enjoyed it. We are having a party here for New Year’s Eve. If you have no other plans, why don’t you join us?”, the consul replies: “that sounds very nice. We had a plan that has fallen through, so we can join the party here”, Spiros smiles happily: “excellent!”, he takes a card from the table and scribbles on it, then he hands it to Soula. She looks at it and smiles: “thank you Mr. Philosopher, we will make sure we attend!”, Louisa looks intrigued: “what did you write, Spiro?”, Soula hands her the card. Louisa reads it aloud: “New Year’s Eve party, at Louisa’s, Spiros’ and all of the Durrell’s, Saturday, December 31st, 1938, at 6PM. Reserved for happy couples only, as assessed by the full application of Philosopher Halikiopoulos’ ‘philosophy of love’”, they all smile, then Spiros adds: “as inspired by my beloved nyfi and contributor”, he hugs and kisses Louisa. They all exit the house, then: “I will put on my taxi driver’s hat now. Who needs a lift home?”, then he turns to Louisa with a smirk: “the most lovable taxi driver on Corfu”, she smiles at him sweetly: “very lovable”, they kiss again, Florence smirks: “and the smooching continues…”. Dr. Petridis puts an arm on her shoulders: “thank you for offering Spiro, but I think after all that eating we can use a walk”, the others all agree and start walking.

  * Spiros and Louisa wave them goodbye then he turns to her: “no lovable taxi driver, I am afraid”, she smiles sweetly: “only my very lovable and much beloved gampro’, I can live with that”, they hug tightly, standing by the house door. They exchange a long love kiss. The kiss becomes more and more sensual. He begins kissing her neck and touching her through her dress. She responds to his touches by stroking his chest and shoulder muscles. He hugs her really tightly now. She can feel his erection against her body. She rubs herself against it: “my philosopher, let’s leave the clean-up for later”, she grabs his hand and leads him upstairs…

  * Shortly after that the children return home. Margot is surprised: “all is quiet. The tea guests must have left”, Gerry laughs: “but where are the hosts?”, Leslie laughs too: “everybody has disappeared, a mystery!”, Larry, whispers with mysterious voice: “yea, like those ghost ships that are found floating at sea with no crew on board”, they all play along, talking with low, mysterious voice, Leslie points at the candles on the table: “with the lights still on”, Margot adds: “and the food still on the table”, Gerry touches the teapot: “still warm!”, Leslie smirks: “the plot thickens…”.
  * Larry sits at the table, takes a clean tea cup, pours some tea and helps himself to some of the sweets: “while you solve the mystery, I will enjoy the leftovers!”, Gerry sit down too: “me too!”. They all sit down. Leslie smirks: “we can leave the mystery for later, these look way too good”, Margot eats one of the Indian sweets: “I love it when mother invites Theo because she makes these!”. They all enjoy their tea and sweets for quite some time. Leslie smiles: “shall we attempt to solve the mysterious disappearance of our two hosts?”, Gerry smirks: “let’s leave it a mystery. Sometimes we just don’t need to know all of the details”, Margot chuckles: “especially you, my innocent little brother”, Gerry laughs. In that moment they hear a door opening upstairs, then giggling voices walking towards the bathroom. Then they hear the bathroom’s door shutting. Leslie grins: “mystery solved!”, Larry smirks: “surprise!”, Margot smiles: “who would have thought!”, they all laugh. They hear the water running in the tub. Gerry chuckles: “and next comes an extra-long bath”. They laugh again, then they help themselves to more sweets. 


	23. New year’s celebrations – 1939

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> New year party at the Durrell-Halikiopoulos home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1939 is here. The year the Durrells left Corfu....

  * Friday, Spiros returns home from work at lunch time. They hug and kiss: “hello love, how was your morning?”, “pretty good, actually. These days the ferries are fairly loaded with holiday travelers”. They have lunch together then Louisa grabs the car keys: “let’s go shopping for tomorrow’s party, now”. He gets up and hugs her tightly, then he looks at her naughtily: “mmm I was hoping for a little afternoon entertainment while the children are all out”, she smiles at him sweetly: “that sounds very, very, tempting, my beloved gampro’*, but if we don’t go now we may not find much later. People are all out shopping and things will be sold out in the shops in town”, he makes a funny sulky face: “such rejections from you are always very hard to accept”, she laughs and kisses him sweetly: “always? I wouldn’t say you get ‘rejections’ all that often. It’s more like ‘never’, really”, he smiles sweetly at her: “so true, my love”, they kiss, she continues: “it’s because you are so very irresistible, my Greek tempter”, he replies still making a sulking expression: “not that tempting if you can resist me so easily right now”, she giggles sweetly: “not that easily, my love. In this case, I’d call it a postponement rather than a rejection”, he kisses her again: “I will take that as a promise, my beloved nyfi”, she giggles: “you can count on it!”, he giggles too: “I will make sure I remind you of your promise”, she kisses him sensually: “no need to, I will remember!”, then they walk to the car and she drives them to town.

(trnsl: gampro’ = groom; nyfi = bride)

  * Saturday, December 31st, 1938. Louisa, Spiros, and the children all help prepare for the party. Larry walks in triumphantly waving several sheets of typed paper: “I have written several readings and a short play for our guests”, “such a nice idea, darling, as long as you keep those within decency!”, he smirks: “mother it’s when you talk like Prue and Geoffrey that you worry me”, she chuckles: “well, not THAT decent, just tone the jokes down enough that minors won’t blush!”, Margot smirks: “it’s more likely that _you_ will blush, mother”, they all laugh, “Margot may be correct, my love, it’s way too easy to make you blush”, he hugs and kisses her, then, with naughty voice, he whispers: “let’s go upstairs for a bit of privacy, love”, she blushes. He looks at her lovingly: “see? Way too easy!”, she slaps him on his shoulder and looks at him cross. He smiles at her sweetly: “uh, oh, I am in trouble now”, he kisses her again. The children laugh. Leslie smirks: “feel free to act on that proposition, lovers, we won’t even notice”. Louisa blushes again: “enough teasing, now!”, Gerry smirks: “teasing? After all of these months of Spiros living here, that indecent proposal sounded pretty plausible, mother”, Larry agrees: “not too different from many other instances”, Louisa blushes again, still in Spiros’ arms. He laughs: “enough teasing your mother, now”.
  * Margot makes a naughty smirk: “fine, then we shall tease you, Spiro”, Spiros laughs: “it’s not as easy to make me blush!”, Leslie makes a threatening smile: “don’t challenge us, Spiro”, Gerry smirks: “yea, you can’t hide anymore. We all know what you are up to, sir”, Leslie makes a pretend stern voice: “you, Greek seducer, with our innocent English mother!”, Larry laughs: “how innocent? Mind explaining it to us, Spiro?”, the children now mock Spiros’ voice and accent; Margot smirks: “yes, what do you mean when you say ‘you look tired, my love’”, Leslie continues: “let’s go to sleep early, love”, Gerry adds: “let’s take an extra-long bath”, Louisa blushes again: “enough teasing, now!”, Spiros is blushed too now. He laughs: “yea, enough! You win!”. They all laugh. Louisa looks at them severely: “and none of this shall go into your play or jokes, Larry!”, he makes a smirk: “fine, mother, fine, I’ll keep most of it out…”, she looks worried now: “most of it?!?!?”. They all laugh again.

  * By evening the house is all ready for the party. It has several decorations and the living room and drawing room have been connected by opening the sliding doors in between them, thus creating a very large party room. The furniture has been moved to make room for dancing, games, the musicians, the gramophone, and a small stage. In the kitchen, tables are laid along the sides, covered with plenty of finger food. A very tasty combination of Indian, Greek, and English cuisines. There is also a large bowl with punch and several other drinks. Spiros smiles happily: “this looks excellent, ready for our guests, great job everyone!”, Louisa agrees: “yes, excellent. Let’s get ourselves ready now”, she goes towards the stairs. Spiros follows her. Gerry makes a smirk: “are we allowed upstairs too?”, Leslie sneers: “need privacy?”, they laugh, Louisa remarks: “well you sure are not allowed in my room when I change!”, they laugh again, Margot smirks: “not even me?”, Spiros chuckles: “not if I am changing too!”. They all laugh and go upstairs to get ready.

  * Later, the siblings and Spiros are downstairs, sitting on the sofas that have been aligned along the sides of the living room, around the dance floor, waiting. Margot asks: “Spiro, where is mother?”, “she was still preparing herself”, Larry smiles: “wow, that long?!?” What is she wearing?”, Leslie smirks: “an armor?”, Spiros laughs: “I actually don’t know. She kicked me out of our bedroom before I could see her new dress. She said it was a surprise!”. In that moment they hear Louisa’s voice: “Spiro, can you come here, please? I need help”, Margot makes a silly smirk: “oh _that_ kind of surprise”, the children laugh, Spiros blushes: “you English children can be really, really, bad!”. He gets up and goes to their bedroom. Meanwhile Larry drives off to pick up some of their guests. Louisa is standing in the middle of their bedroom, her hair and her make-up are done very nicely, she is wearing her gold pearl earrings and necklace and she has a beautiful and rather sexy light orange/peach new dress on; it is long to her ankles, sleeveless, and it has a fairly deep décolleté, “I need help with the buttons, love, I can’t reach them all”, he stares at her, his mouth open, his eyes full of love: “you look soo sexy in that dress, I may have to act on some of your children’s dirty allusions!”, she giggles sweetly: “maybe later love, right now I just need help with the buttons, please”. She turns with her back towards him, with several buttons still undone. The dress leaves a good part of her back uncovered and looks really good on her. When he is done buttoning her up, he hugs her tightly from behind: “mmm you are so hard to resist, right now, my beauty”, she giggles and turns around. They hug and kiss: “let’s go downstairs now, my love. Our guests should be here any time”, “fine, fine, I will have to wait until next year then”, she laughs: “well, that’s not that far away. Just a few hours! They kiss again, then she cleans her lipstick from his lips: “I’ll just put a bit more lipstick on now, love. I will be ready in a minute”. He kisses her again. She removes the lipstick from his lips again, they laugh sweetly, then he leaves. She puts on more lipstick, then she goes downstairs too.
  * The first guests have already arrived. Larry has just dropped off their very good friends; the countess, her butler Dennis, the Petridis, and the Stephanides. When Spiros enters the living room, Maria sounds almost disappointed: “oh you are already here!”, they all laugh, Spiros looks surprised: “why ‘already’?”, Florence chuckles: “well the children told us the two of you had retired to your bedroom”, Maria smirks: “so we just assumed, it’d be a while”, they all laugh. Spiros smiles: “this lot is being particularly naughty today. They keep making rude dirty jokes”, in that moment Louisa joins them: “indeed, now I am really worried about the rest of the evening!”, then she hugs her friends: “welcome to our home, please help yourself to the food and drinks”, as she is hugging the countess she remarks: “my dear you look lovely in that dress, no wonder your children were making assumptions!”, she blushes: “please, not you too, doctor”. They all laugh, Maria agrees: “indeed! That dress really does look very good on you!”.

  * As the evening progresses, more and more guests arrive. The British consul and judge with Soula and Georgia, and several other friends. The consul and Soula approach Spiros and Louisa, the consul asks: “can we have a quick word in private?”, Spiros smiles: “of course!”, they walk outside and stand by the sea wall. Even if it is the end of December, the temperature is relatively mild. Louisa sighs: “this is so nice, England would be so much colder tonight. I wish we could stay here forever”, the consul nods: “I know what you mean, but that won’t be possible. Things are getting worse and worse. My consular office has been placed on an alert list. As soon as I receive instructions from London I am to communicate with all of the British citizens in my file. We will all have to evacuate sooner than we like.”, Spiros tries to cheer them up: “well, then next year we will throw a party in England and we will all celebrate our friendship and lives there”, Louisa makes a sad smile: “you always have such a positive outlook on things, Spiro”, he looks at her very lovingly: “as long as you are with me, my outlook will always be positive, Louisa”, the consul smiles and puts his arm around his wife’s shoulders: “that’s what I tell Soula when she is sad about leaving Greece”, Soula looks at him sweetly: “I know, love, I just wish we could stay”, Louisa agrees: “me too! We are both lucky we have such supportive men”, they all smile.
  * Then the consul takes an envelope out of his pocket and hands it to Spiros. Spiros opens it, makes a big smile and hands it to Louisa, she smiles too: “your British passport!”, Spiros hugs her: “now we are certain we will be together”, they hug and kiss again. The consul smiles: “if you come to my office on Tuesday, Jan 2nd we can do the paperwork for your children’s citizenship. That will be quick because I don’t need to wait for the Greek authorities”, Louisa smiles: “Larry has already filled the forms”, she goes briefly inside to get Larry. Larry goes to his bedroom and joins them outside: “here are the filled forms. They only require your signature and passport number, Spiro”. They add the information then the consul puts them in the pocket of his Jacket: “excellent, then if you come to my office on Tuesday, I will have the children’s passports ready, and if your ex-wife can go with you we can file her paperwork too”, Spiros smiles: “thank you so much consul, you are being so kind!”. They all smile and go back inside to join the other guests.

  * They are all having a good time, chatting and eating the food. Georgia remarks: “this is all so delicious”, Theo makes a very happy face: “especially the Indian food, I know that Louisa never disappoints me”, Louisa smiles: “happy to spoil the Indian in you, Theo. It gives me an excuse to spoil myself too”, Spiros hugs her: “you don’t need that. I am always very happy to spoil you”, she smiles at him sweetly, they kiss. In that moment Gerry runs off with a big happy smile on his face. Galini has just arrived. He hugs her and gives her a very decisive and certainly not so innocent kiss. Louisa looks perplexed: “since when has my baby son become so ‘adult’?”. Margot laughs: “it has been a while, mother. You are noticing it later than everybody else, as always”, Larry smirks: “yea, I walked in on them in the shed the other day and I shall not describe the details of what I have seen”, Louisa blushes: “oh, it may be time I have my little chat about contraception with Gerry, then”, she is blushed. Spiros looks at her: “I don’t mind doing that, if you wish, love”, Louisa nods: “oh, maybe I will let you do that”, Larry smirks: “I’d recommend it highly, mother. When you had your little chat with me, you were so embarrassed and you used so much allusive non-direct talk, that for a while I thought you were talking about actual birds and bees”, they all laugh. Louisa smiles: “well, naturalistic analogies would be very easy for Gerry to grasp!”, Larry smirks: “and for Galini…”, Theo chuckles: “indeed!”, Maria laughs: “thanks to you, dear”, they all laugh.

  * Meanwhile their guests keep walking in. Several of their Greek and English friends have arrived. At some point Dimitra and Christos walk in too, with Katherini and Mihalis. The little girl runs towards Spiros and Louisa: “bampaka*, Louisa, we are back!!”, Louisa picks her up and gives her a kiss: “what a nice surprise, darling, I did not realize you’d be back in time for the party!”, Mihalis is hugging his father: “yea, we intentionally did not write about it so that we could surprise you!”, Dimitra approaches them: “hope you don’t mind our crashing your party”, Louisa puts Katherini down and hugs Dimitra and Christos, smiling: “of course not! I am happy you’ve made it!”, Spiros picks Katherini up and gives her a big kiss: “when did you arrive?”, Christos answers: “with the morning ferry from Igoumenitsa”, “and who picked you up?”, “we had to take a regular cab. No taxi for us this time”, Louisa laughs: “quite unthinkable, with a taxi driver in the family!”, they all smile, Spiros remarks: “well, help yourself to the food and drinks, the dances will begin soon”, Katherini is excited: “yea!!!”, Mihalis smiles: “I hope you have made your English and Indian food, Louisa, I have missed that in Athens!”, she chuckles: “thank you Mihali, that is very nice of you to say, but I am sure the Greek food you had at your grandparents’ was delicious!”, he laughs: “of course, but yours is special. Nobody else makes it!”, Dimitra smiles: “I have to agree, I will have some of that too”, they walk to the tables in the kitchen and fill their plates.

(*trnsl: bampaka = daddy)

  * Meanwhile guests keep arriving. Leslie has picked up Spiros parents, Lugaretzia, and her family. Spiros and Louisa greet his parents, “kalosoriste sto komma mas*”, then Louisa smiles: “hello, Lugaretzia!”, “Mrs. Durrell, you forgot to wear a dress. You only have your undergown on!”, they all laugh, Spiros makes a naughty smile: “she was following my specific request, Lugaretzia. It will save me time later”, Louisa blushes: “enough joking now, Spiro”, he looks at her lovingly: “whatever my beautiful nyfi desires”. They hug and kiss.

(*trnsl: Welcome to our party; nyfi = bride. In Greece the terms bride (nyfi) and groom (gampro’) are used from the time of engagement to several months after the day of the wedding)

  * In that moment Sven and Viggo approach. Louisa smiles happily and hugs them both: “welcome! I did not realize you were back, Viggo!”, he smiles: “yes, I was missing my Sven too much. I had to see him again”, Louisa smiles: “that’s very sweet! I am happy you came and I am sure Sven is even happier”, Sven and Viggo are holding their arms around each other’s backs, both smiling. Spiros put his arm on Louisa’s shoulders: “I am happy for the two of you, just be careful when you are in public. The police have become much stricter than before lately”, Larry nods: “yea, the fascist and Nazi ideologies are really spreading all over Greece”. Viggo makes a sad smile: “…and the rest of Europe. There is no safe place for us anymore. The main reason for I came here is that in Sweden the police had already searched my flat twice, looking for evidence of my ‘deviant’ behavior. Luckily, I had hidden our letters and photos under a board of the hardwood floor”, Sven is still hugging him: “for these reasons we have decided to move to England, with the ferry that leaves for Malta on Tuesday. Once in England, we will decide whether we stay there or go to America”, Spiros smiles: “let me know if you do go to America. I still have friends and my brother Yiannis in Chicago who may help you get settled”, Sven smiles: “thank you Spiro, we will keep that in mind”, Louisa adds: “we will likely have to move to England too. If you decide to remain there I’d be happy to help you settle too”. Sven hugs her: “thank you Louisa, you are the best almost-bride I have ever had”, she giggles: “and the only one!”, they all laugh now, Spiros smiles: “I am so very happy you have only an _almost_ bride, Sven!”, Viggo smiles sweetly: “me too!”, Spiros hugs and kisses Louisa. Sven and Viggo kiss too.
  * Lugaretzia and Spiros’ parents are looking from the sofa on which they are seated. Lugaretzia makes a serious face: “koitaxte tous dyo amartolous”, Spiros and Louisa hear that and look worried now. Spiros’ mother smiles sweetly: “i agapi einai agapi, akomi kai gia tous omofylofilous”, her husband looks very surprised: “isos, gynaika mou…”, she looks at him with stern eyes: “nai andra… etzi ine, prepei na to anagnorisoume”, Sven and Viggo look at each other surprised by this unexpected opening, Sven smiles: “efcharisto’ poly’, kyria Halikiopoulou”, she smiles at them. Spiros and Louisa approach their sofa: “Lugaretzia, mitera, patera, min to lete se kanenan, parakalo’. Sven kai Viggo einai poly’ kaloi’ filoi mas”, Spiros’ mother smiles: “to xeroume, min anisycheite gio mou, den tha milisoume”, then Spiros turns towards Sven and Viggo: “I hate to talk like this but I’d invite the two of you to be careful. Even in our house tonight. We have several guests and I cannot promise none of them would talk or, worse, report you to the police”, Sven smiles: “I appreciate your concern Spiro”, he lets go of Viggo. They both look sad. Louisa looks sad too: “this is very unfair, but Spiro is correct. Just for a few more days. Then you will be off to Malta. The English world is more tolerant, even though I am afraid there is still a long way ahead of us before homosexuality is fully accepted. Our unjust law still bans it, but at least it is not enforced”, Viggo nods: “we know that. We just want to be able to live our lives. If not publicly, at least privately, without fear of being arrested”, Louisa hugs Sven: “if that was to happen you know who to call for a helpful testimony”, Sven kisses her cheek softly and smiles: “and baskets of delicious food”. They all laugh.

(trnsl: look at those two sinners; love is love, even for homosexuals; maybe, my wife; yes, husband, so it is, we need to acknowledge it; thank you very much, Mrs. H; Lugaretzia, mother, father, don’t tell anyone, please. Sven and Viggo are our very good friends; we know it, don’t worry my son, we won’t talk)

  * In that moment Christos and Dimitra approach Spiros and Louisa. Dimitra asks: “could we have a quick word in private?”, Louisa smiles: “yes of course”. They sit on the sofas in a quiet corner at the back of the room. Christos looks at Spiros: “this may seem unconventional, but Dimitra and I have talked while away and we’d like the two of you to be our parakumbaroi at our wedding”, Spiros and Louisa look surprised. Dimitra looks at them: “as you know, I have no hard feelings for the breakup of our marriage”, Christos is happily hugging Dimitra: “and I can only be grateful for that”, Spiros smiles: “and I am very happy for the two of you”, Louisa agrees: “so am I. I’d hate it if my happiness with Spiro had come at the expense of yours, Dimitra”, Christos looks at Spiros: “we used to be best friends, back in high school and I like to think since my return to Kerkyra we have been able to pick up our friendship where we had left it many years ago”, Spiros smiles: “yes, I feel that way too”, Louisa smiles too: “I also think of you as a friend, Dimitra”, Dimitra smiles: “is that a yes? Will you be my parakoumbara, Louisa?”, “yes, and I’d be happy if you accepted to be mine, Dimitra”, Spiros agrees: “same for me Christos, my friend”, Christos smiles: “it’s settled, then, we will be each other’s parakoumbaroi”, Dimitra makes a happy face: “we have set our wedding date for February 5th. After a generous donation to the church, the priest has agreed to marry us in church”, Spiros laughs: “he has agreed to marry us in church too!”, Louisa smirks: “not that easily, though…”, Dimitra and Christos look puzzled, she asks: “because Spiro is divorced? He gave a hard time to me too”, Christos smiles: “hence the donation…”, Louisa is very blushed: “I wish it was only that! I had to be christened with the Greek Orthodox rite”, Dimitra smiles: “oh, I feel for you, Louisa, I always notice the embarrassment when I see adults being baptized in Greek churches”, Louisa nods: “yes it was very embarrassing, even if we had a private ceremony”, Spiros hugs her: “well, it is done, now, and we also have a date for our wedding; the 19th of March”, he looks at Louisa very lovingly: “a very happy day”. They kiss.

(trnsl: parakoumbara/parakoumbaroi = part of the wedding party, feminine/masculine-plural forms. Kerkyra = the Greek name for Corfu)

  * The musicians have all arrived. Spiros picks up his guitar and begins the first piece, a Greek traditional dance. The musicians all follow that lead. He puts his guitar down, takes Louisa’s hand and goes to the dance floor. Others follow quickly, mostly Greeks, but also the Durrell children who now know those dances rather well. Over the evening, the musicians play several pieces, a mix of Greek and non-Greek traditional music. Spiros and Louisa keep dancing to all of them, looking really happy together. After a lot of dancing, some of the guests stop and sit for a rest. Even Mihalis and Katherini look tired now. At that point Spiros picks up his guitar and begins a typical swing rhythm of jazz music. The musicians look perplexed. They don’t know what to do with that. Larry grabs his guitar and begins accompanying Spiros. Spiros smiles at him and begins improvising while Larry keeps the rhythm. For a bit Larry and Spiros take turns improvising many variations of the musical theme. The guests all enjoy the modern American music. The musicians ‘get’ the idea and begin accompanying the two guitars with a soft background swing.
  * Spiros picks up a different tune. Larry follows him, the musicians continue with the accompaniment, then Spiros begin singing, with beautiful warm voice: “everybody loves my baby*”, then he continues playing the music’s theme while approaching Louisa. She laughs, gets up, and improvises duetting with Spiros, singing with very nice voice too: “everybody?”, he continues: “everybody loves my baby, but my baby don't love nobody but me”, she smiles at him sweetly: “true, my baby”, he smiles sweetly at her: “nobody but me”, Louisa agrees: “of course, babe”, he sings with jealous looks: “yes, everybody wants my baby”, she laughs: “not really”, “but my baby don’t want nobody but me, that’s plain to see”, she smiles at him sweetly: “so plain to see, indeed”, “I’m her sweet Spiro, and she is my loving gal”, Louisa keeps looking at him sweetly: “always and forever, my love”, “no time to do her duty, loves me like no other can”, she keeps singing, improvising beautifully at the pace of music, looking at him very lovingly: “you can bet on that, my babe”, “everybody loves my baby”, this time she just moves to the music while smiling at him with very skeptical looks. The guests laugh. He continues: “but my baby don't love nobody but me”, she continues: “nobody but you, my baby”, he continues, looking at her sweetly: “yes, …everybody wants my baby”, she continues with the lyrics: “but your baby don't want nobody but you”, he smiles at her very, very, lovingly and continues with the song: “everybody wants my baby… but my baby don’t want nobody but me… that’s plain to see”, Louisa looks at him very lovingly too and ends the song: “yes, so very plain to seeeeee”. As Larry continues, improvising several themes of the main melody, Spiros puts his guitar down, wraps Louisa in a tight hug and they exchange a long kiss. The guests all applaud. Many of them have been dancing to the music throughout. Even those unfamiliar with that type of music seem captivated.

(Note: a jazz song composed by Spencer Williams. Popular in America when Spiros was there)

  * Meanwhile, little Katherini has fallen asleep on a sofa, tired after all that dancing well past her usual bedtime. Louisa notices that and gently puts a blanket on her. Dimitra sees that: “thank you Louisa”, she smiles at her: “of course!”.

  * Larry gets up and goes to the stage: “time to allow our musicians and dancers a break, now”. The musicians all go to the kitchen to get food and drinks. Meanwhile Larry begins reading and acting some of his jokes. Some are actually quite funny and everybody laughs. And yes, some are allusive and some are allusive of his mother and Spiros who are standing next to each other. He has his arm on her shoulders. She has her arm around the small of his back. Louisa blushes to all of the jokes, but she has to admit they are subtle and well written. So she laughs hard, even when blushed.
  * Larry announces: “last for tonight, my siblings and I will play a small sketch I have written. Then we can all go back to eating, drinking, and dancing until midnight”, he looks at Spiros and Louisa and makes a silly smirk: “I may need to apologize in advance here”, his mother and Spiros look at each other with worried faces now. Larry begins playing a background tune with his guitar. Gerry picks up Spiros’ guitar and accompanies Larry. Then Larry acts very theatrically: “ladies and gentlemen, who knows what the name Louis mean?”, the countess answers: “it’s French, it means famous or renowned warrior!”, Larry smiles: “thank you countess! Yes, and that is why so many French kings have been named Louis over the centuries”, he plays a few chords on his guitar, then he continues: “well, our mother, Louisa, as we all know, is indeed quite the warrior, raising 4 children on her own”, Margot, with emphatic, theatrical tone, adds: “and quite the children!”, the audience laughs, Leslie, with theatrical postures and voice continues: “and she certainly deserves her ‘warrior’ denomination!”, Gerry, also acting theatrically, adds: “warrior AND worrier!”, Larry smiles, then quite emphatically concludes: “indeed, but let’s leave the latter for another story!”. Louisa, Spiros, and the guests all laugh.
  * Larry continues playing his guitar, then he smiles: “but here is the best part! Let’s look at this warrior’s soulmate, now, ladies and gentlemen. Who knows what the name Spyridon means?”, as he plays his guitar, he is looking at the audience. Theo replies: “it’s a basket to carry seeds!”, Larry makes a very funny face. Everybody laughs. Then very theatrically he asks: “a basket of what?!?!”, Theo laughs too. He can see where Larry is going: “seeds!!”, Larry makes an even funnier and naughtier face: “seeds!!! What type of seeds?!?!”, Gerry, still accompanying Larry with Spiros’ guitar, also speaks very theatrically: “plant seeds or animal seeds?!?”. Now everybody laughs really hard. Leslie makes a really funny face and looks directly at Spiros, then with theatrical posture, one arm raised towards the ceiling, the other pointing at Spiros he shouts: “what is the nature of the seeds you carry, my dear Spyridon?”, Spiros laughs. Both him and Louisa are really blushed now. They still have their arms around each other’s back. The guests keep laughing very hard.
  * Larry continues: “so this man who has been living with us, sleeping in the warrior’s, I mean… our mother’s, bedroom for months, is a famous seed carrier!!”, Margot with emphatically surprised voice and a really, really, worried facial expression remarks: “who would have ever thought!?!?! Now I wonder: what kind of _battles_ is our warrior engaged in by her Spyridon?”, the guests are now holding their stomachs with their hands, for so much laughing, Spiros and Louisa are laughing too, both very blushed. She hides her face in the crook of his neck, embarrassed. Larry, continues playing his guitar, then he stops and shouts theatrically: “and everybody, I mean every single bloody Greek around us, has known it all along!!”, the guests keep laughing and laughing.
  * Then Larry, still playing his guitar, looks at his brothers and sister: “my dear siblings how could we be so naïve? How have we not seen right through this?!?!”, Leslie, also speaking emphatically, adds: “yet, plenty of signs have been there all along, for us to see!”, the audience laughs, then Gerry, who is also still playing his guitar, makes a silly/sweet face towards his sister and mocks Spiros’ voice and Greek accent: “you look so tired tonight, my love”, Leslie, also looking at Margot with silly/loving eyes and making a fake Greek accent, adds: “let’s go to sleep early tonight, Louisa”, Margot mocks their mother’s voice and replies very emphatically: “oh, yes! Your famous warrior is soo very tired tonight, my Spyridon!”, Larry, imitating Spiros’ voice and accent concludes: “I can fix that, my dear warrior, let’s go to bed, now. I have got a whole basket of seeds to plant!”. Larry and Gerry escalate their guitar playing and end the music on a high note. Now both Louisa and Spiros are really badly blushed. Everybody laughs and claps for a very long time while the Durrell siblings bow to the public.

  * Larry leaves the stage. The musicians are back from their break. Gerry uses Spiros’ guitar to prompt the Greek music again. The musicians follow and play a traditional Greek dance. Many guests start dancing again. Larry approaches his mother and Spiros, looking contrite: “sorry, I couldn’t help it…”, Louisa laughs: “of course you could! You just did not want to!”, Spiros laughs: “I must admit that was very funny and I had never thought about the meaning of our names that way!”. A song has just finished. Larry picks up his guitar and smiles: “I hope this will get me some forgiveness”, he begins playing their favorite, The Blue Danube Waltz. The musicians follow him quickly. Spiros takes Louisa’s hand, then speaks very loudly and theatrically: “my warrior, come and join your seed carrier”, she blushes and laughs: “don’t _you_ start now, Spiro!”, the guests all laugh as Spiros and Louisa begin dancing. Several other couples dance to the waltz too. Among others, Dimitra and Christos, the Petridis, the Stephanides, the consul and Soula, the judge and Georgia, Spiros’ parents, Gerry and Galini, Sven and Viggo. Larry invites the countess with a deep bow. She laughs and gets up. He leads her to the dance floor and they make a beautiful dancing couple. Leslie also bows and invites Lugaretzia who is all blushed and mutters: “I have pain in my back”, but actually does a pretty good job at it. Margot walks up to Dennis: “let’s dance!”, he blushes but takes her hand shyly. They walk to the dance floor and he leads her in the waltz beautifully.

  * The music ends. Spiros and Louisa go to the stage, holding a bottle of champagne and two glasses. Louisa calls: “midnight is almost here, you should all pick up a glass!”, the children go around the room handing champagne glasses to everyone. They also hand several bottles. Meanwhile, Spiros turns on the wireless and tunes it, until he finds a Greek station. He listens for a few minutes, then he raises the volume and attracts everybody’s attention: “they are saying it’s one minute away. They all quiet down, until the radio begins the final countdown: “deka, ennea, okto’, epta’, exi, pente, tessera, tria, dyo, ena… kali’ hronia’!”, they all open their bottles and pour champagne, then Louisa and Spiros hug and exchange a very long kiss. So do all of the couples present, while the others toast to the new year. Gradually all couples stop kissing and begin toasting with others near them. Louisa and Spiros keep kissing, Florence shouts: “enough smooching!”, Larry smirks: “or we will end up with lots of seeding”. Everybody laughs.

(trnsl: 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1… happy new year!)

  * Louisa and Spiros stop kissing, both very blushed. They turn to their guests and raise their glasses, Louisa smiles: kali’ hronia’*!!”, Spiros adds: “happy new year!!!”, Larry smiles towards the countess and shouts: “bonne annee’!”, Sven looks sweetly at Viggo: “gott nytt år!”. The guests all raise their glasses and toast to the new year, then Louisa takes the stage again: “I wanted to wish you all a happy 1939. If, as it is looking more and more likely, this year will bring a war, I invite you all to stay safe. We, English, will have to evacuate. There have already been reports from German- and Italian-occupied countries, of English people being arrested, or even killed, just because of their nationality. Unfortunately, it is looking more and more likely that Greece is going that way too. Whenever that happens, this warrior and worrier will need to move her family to safety in England”, her voice is broken now: “I will miss this country and I will miss this beautiful island. My family and I have been happy here. I, in particular, have found love again”, she looks at Spiros very lovingly: “…and my heart and true home will always be on this island. At this point I don’t know when we will have to leave and we intend to enjoy our time here for as long as we can safely do it. And I promise I will return one day”. Louisa makes a sad smile and wipes a tear off her eyes.

(*trnsl: happy new year, in Greek, French, and Swedish)

  * Spiros hugs and kisses her then he speaks as he holds his arm around Louisa’s shoulders: “kali’ hronia’ se olous*. I really wish I could add a more positive voice here. Unfortunately, the news is not good. When all British nationals will need to leave our island, I will go with them and so will my children, Dimitra, and Christos. My beloved warrior and I will be together in England and, yes, we will return here one day. So ours will be a temporary goodbye”, he turns towards Louisa and kisses her lips softly, “and now, to end on a happy note, as many of you already know, Louisa and I will be married at the Greek Orthodox church, on Sunday, the 19th of March, 1939. You are all invited to join us and celebrate our union”, then he turns towards Louisa with a sweet smile and loving eyes: “I love you, my warrior”, she smiles at him lovingly: “I love you too”. They hug and kiss again. Their guests all clap.

(*trnsl: happy new year to all)

  * Louisa shouts: “and now more dancing! Feel free to help yourself to the food and drinks!”.
  * In that moment there is a series of very loud screams outside. Spiros, Louisa, and most of the guests run there. Larry and several of his bohemian girlfriends and boyfriends have jumped into the sea and are swimming in the cold dark water. Louisa screams: “Larry, your clothes are all wet!”, he turns towards her and, sounding clearly drunk, replies: “oh my God, mother, you are correct, good thing you pointed that out, I would have never noticed that otherwise!”, then he proceeds to remove his clothes and throw them up, towards the sea wall. They land on the wall and the ground. Larry’s friends take off their clothes and throw them up too. Now they are all swimming completely naked. Lugaretzia is scandalized: “po, po, po, Panagia mou*!”, Louisa is blushed: “Larry, you will get us all arrested!!”, Spiros laughs: “my love, you did point out that their clothes were wet!”, most of the guest are laughing. After a while, Louisa remarks: “unless you are interested in further spectacle, I’d suggest we all go inside, before those drunk swimmers walk out of the water in their birth suit!”. Most people go back inside laughing. Louisa and Spiros go upstairs, take several towels, and bring them outside. They put them on the wall, “Larry, for when you and your friends are done swimming”, he stands in the shallow water, his nudity fully visible: “thank you mother, you are the best!”, she blushes. Spiros laughs. They go back inside…

(*Trnsl: Pangaia mou = my Lady. Po, po, po, is a fairly common exclamation in Greece, mostly by the elders)


	24. A happy beginning of the new year

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A new year is here (1939) and a few things are set in place for events to come. Their Greek wedding being one. The official closure of the Greek festivities being another. Planning for the upcoming war being the least fun of them all...

  * Monday Jan 1st. Louisa and Spiros wake up late, and cuddle and coo in bed sweetly for quite some time. Spiros whispers in her ear softly: “my sweet love, happy 7th month together! The best 7 months in my life. I am so happy with you!”, her voice is still sleepy: “so am I Spiro. These 7 months have been such a lovely and happy time!”, she lifts her head towards him. They kiss sweetly, then she continues: “I especially love these very romantic moments with you”, “me too, Louisa. I could hug you like this for hours”. They remain in bed, hugging, for a while. Then she unbuttons his pajama’s top and begins caressing his chest. He remains quiet for a while, enjoying the soft touches. Then he puts his hand under her pajama’s top and begins lightly stroking her back and her breasts. She raises her head and they kiss, a long sensual kiss. She continues caressing his chest for a while, then she moves her hand lower down, reaching inside his pajama’s bottom. She finds his erection and begins caressing it slowly. Up and down. He reaches with his hand inside her pajama’s and starts touching and stimulating her sex. They are both moaning now. They undress each other, then they continue touching and stimulating each other for a while. They both become very aroused. They sit up, she sits onto him, and they make love, facing and hugging each other.
  * Afterwards, they lay on their sides, facing one other, his arms around her. They coo and kiss gently for some time. Then they get up, go to the bathroom together, and take an extra-long bath, making love in the tub. Quietly. The children are all still in their bedrooms, sleeping in after the party.

  * When they all finally get up it is early afternoon. They have a very late breakfast/lunch. Leslie smiles happily: “one good thing about parties is that the leftovers are so delicious”, Gerry, with his mouth full, agrees: “yes they make for a really good brunch the next day”, Margot smiles: “my favorite is the Indian finger food, especially the samosas with tamarind chutney”, Larry, clearly on a hangover, speaks with groggy voice: “and it was one good party we had last night”, Louisa smiles: “yes very good, son. You and your friends certainly looked like you were having a good time”, they all laugh, Louisa smirks: “now let’s see how good we all are with the clean-up”, Spiros smiles: “if we all do our share it won’t be that bad”. They finish their breakfast then they all get up and begin cleaning. After a couple of hours, all is nicely clean, the carpets are all hung outside and get a good beating, the floors are all wiped and washed, the furniture is all back to its original position, the dishes are all washed, dried and put away. Last, Spiros and Gerry go outside and bring the carpets back into the house. They lay them on the living room floor. Larry, Leslie, and Margo place the tea table and other pieces of furniture back on them. Spiros looks satisfied: “all done, not too bad really, thank you family!”. Louisa smiles: “excellent, with everybody’s help, cleaning up truly was not that bad”.

  * Larry sits on a sofa: “today is the first day of the month as well as of the year. Are the two of you still going on your usual romantic date?”, Spiros looks at Louisa: “I am if my beloved nyfi is”, she laughs: “well, you wouldn’t go on your own, would you?”, he laughs too: “so are you joining me?” she smiles sweetly: “sure, why not!”, he makes big puppy eyes, with pouting lips: “that answer was not very romantic, Louisa. What do you mean with ‘why not’, that if you had something better to do you wouldn’t go on a date with me?”, he acts all sulking now. She smiles sweetly and walks up to him: “I’d be exceptionally happy to go on a date with you, my handsome Greek seed carrier. Nothing could be better than that”, she puts her arms around his neck and gives him a loving kiss, then she smiles sweetly: “was that romantic enough?”, he makes a big loving smile, wraps his arms around her, then with very soft voice, whispers: “and I will be exceptionally happy to date my famous English warrior with a French name”, they kiss. A long kiss. The children are watching, smiling, Margot smiles sweetly: “7 months of smooches to be celebrated”, Larry smiles: “of course, lovebirds!”.

  * Tuesday, Jan 2nd. After breakfast, Spiros gets up: “I am going to town now. Anyone who needs a drive should get ready”, then he turns towards Louisa: “love, today Dimitra and I are going to the British consul to do the paperwork for her citizenship. Did you want to join us?”, “I need to do some shopping. I can get a lift to town, and meet you at the consulate after that”. Larry goes upstairs to his bedroom and returns with the filled forms: “here they are, Spiro, you only need to add the numbers of the children’s passports and Dimitra’s signature”, “thank you so much Larry, you are so organized!”, “happy to help. Hopefully these last two steps, Dimitra’s and Christo’s citizenships, will be done quickly”, Louisa nods: “yes, then we will know we can all go to England together”, she hugs Spiros: “I’d be so sad if we couldn’t”, he looks at her very lovingly: “we will, my love, you don’t need to be sad”. They kiss, then they all get ready and go to town together. They stop at Dimitra and Christos’ house. Christos is at work. The Durrell children go to work/lessons. Louisa goes off to the market: “see you all later”. Meanwhile Spiros and Dimitra go to the British consul. The children’s passports are ready. They add the children’s passport numbers to the form Larry has given to them, then the consul smiles: “I will send this out today. Then I will have to wait until I get back from the British authorities. Your application needs to be approved before I can proceed. I am very hopeful they will allow this. I have done a similar procedure last November. A parent acquired the British citizenship from his child. It seems they are allowing that for as long as the minors are very young. Yours are still quite young so I have reason to be optimistic. As soon as your application is approved I will issue your passport, Dimitra”.
  * In that moment Louisa walks in: “hello everyone, how’s the paperwork coming along?”, she approaches Spiros and they kiss. The consul replies: “I am hopeful things will work out as planned”, Dimitra smiles: “thank you very much consul”, Spiros agrees: “yes, we really appreciate how hard you are working to allow us all to be safe in England together”, “my pleasure! Spiro, you mentioned a party, when we are all there. After the fun we had for New Year’s Eve, I will be looking forward to it!”, Spiros makes a big happy smile: “you can count on it!”, Louisa inquires: “where do you and Soula plan to live in England?”, “well, I am originally from Manchester, but most of my family lives in Lymington now, so we are considering moving there, if I can find a job”, Spiros asks: “that’s not too far from Bournemouth, correct?”, “exactly! You seem to know England very well, Spiro”, he looks at Louisa: “I have been studying the map. Louisa and her children lived in Bournemouth for several years before moving to Corfu’. We haven’t quite decided yet, but going back there is being discussed”, the consul asks: “would you like that?”, “honestly, I don’t care where we end up. I don’t know any cities and anybody in England. I will trust Louisa and her children on this”, Dimitra agrees: “same for me, as long as we can all find jobs for the duration of the war, any English city is as good as any other”, Louisa nods: “we will decide together, of course. The one good thing about Bournemouth is that it is south and warmer than other parts of England”, Dimitra smiles: “and it is on the coast. It even has a beach”, Louisa explains: “it will never be like Corfu’, but the landscape does have some resemblance”, Dimitra nods: “I think Christo would be happier if it looked like Corfu’ a bit”, the consul intervenes: “that coastline is actually rather pretty. However, the weather almost never is as nice as here. Maybe just a few days in the middle of the Summer. Most of the time it is rather colder than here”, Spiros smiles: “Dimitra and I have lived in Chicago for a number of years. We know all about really cold weather. We had weeks and weeks of really deep freeze, at -10F (-22C) or lower, with very heavy snow falls”, Louisa explains: “oh, Bournemouth is much better than Illinois! The temperature hardly ever goes below freezing. It almost never snows and when it does snow it’s just a brush”. Dimitra smiles happily: “I am happy to hear that. I wasn’t too keen on Chicago’s cold”, Louisa makes a sad smile: “Bournemouth may not be as cold but it sure does get dark and gloomy in the winter. That is what I disliked about it. It rained a lot”. Spiros looks at the consul: “well if we end up living so close to each other, we will be able to meet on dark gloomy rainy winter days and reminisce about Corfu’ together”, the consul smiles: “I like that idea and I am sure Soula would be happy too!”. They all smile. Louisa, Spiros, and Dimitra leave.

  * When they leave town Louisa and Spiros drive to Sven’s house. The door is open. They get off the car and walk in. Sven and Viggo are hugging and kissing in the kitchen. Louisa smiles sweetly: “here are two other smoochers, to use Florence’s language”, Sven blushes and lets go of Viggo. Spiros smiles too: “ready to go to the ferry, lovers?”, Sven smiles at them: “yes, we are all packed”. They load their baggage on the car, then Sven walks back to his house and locks the door one last time. He is clearly moved. A tear is falling down his cheek. Viggo goes near him and hugs him. Sven is crying in the crook of his neck, now: “I was happy here…”, then he looks at Viggo lovingly: “_we_ were happy here”, Viggo smiles sweetly at him: “I know, love. One day we will be back. Meanwhile we will be happy. We can be happy anywhere, as long as we are together”, they hug and kiss. A long love kiss. Spiros and Louisa are watching from the car. They understand. They will have to do the same thing soon and they know leaving their home on Corfu will be an emotional moment. They wait patiently until Sven and Viggo join them in the car.
  * At the docks they help them with their baggage. Then they hug each other goodbye. Louisa is moved now. A tear is dropping down her cheek. As she hugs Sven she weeps: “do make sure you write your new address when you get there”, “yes, I will keep in touch, Louisa. You will always be my _special_ friend”, she smiles: “I know, you are my special friend too, Sven”. Then she hugs Viggo: “take good care of my friend, Viggo”. Spiros hugs them both too, then him and Louisa drive away.
  * As he drives he looks at her. She is still clearly emotional. He drives to the beautiful lookout over the cliffs. He stops the car. He helps her off it. They sit on his Jacket, on the log by the edge of the cliff. He hugs her. She cries softly in his arms. She looks up at him: “I am sorry love, it’s not what it looks”, he smiles sweetly, looking into her eyes: “I know…”, she smiles back at him: “it’s a strange sense of nostalgia. Almost as if a part of my past was leaving me”, “well, in many ways it is, isn’t it? He represents an important moment in your life”, she looks at him lovingly: “I am happy you are so understanding, Spiro. Yes, he was an important transition in my life”, he wraps her in his arms: “I know”, she looks into his eyes: “it doesn’t mean I am still in love with him”, he smiles sweetly, still hugging her: “I know…”, she looks into his eyes very lovingly: “I love you now and I have never loved Sven the way I love you”, he looks at her with very loving eyes: “and I love you, Louisa, in a way I have never loved any other woman”. They exchange a long love kiss, hugging each other, sitting on the log by the cliff. Then they kiss again, and again.

  * Thursday, January 5. They are all at the dinner table. Leslie looks at Larry: “brother, I have found a task for you and your lot of mad friends”, “mad? Why mad?”, “well, unless you think swimming in the sea at this time of the year is normal…”, Margot laughs: “yea, that was a pretty crazy thing to do”, Leslie continues: “my point exactly, so perfect for a Greek madness tomorrow”, Larry looks puzzled now. Spiros laughs, he knows where Leslie is going with this. Leslie explains: “my friends at the police station have told me that the official closure of the Christmas celebrations is on January 6th. The priest will throw crucifixes in the sea and people will dive and race to retrieve them”, Margot smiles: “Larry you should definitely do that!!”, Louisa laughs: “with your bathing costume on, though!!”, Spiros smiles: “such a wonderful idea, Leslie”, Larry looks perplexed: “not without a good dose of alcohol in me!”, Margot makes a knowing smirk: “that’s easy enough to achieve!”, they all laugh, Leslie chuckles: “you should ask your mad friends to join you”, Larry smiles: “I will!”
  * The next day, January 6th, they all gather at the docks. The priest throws several crosses in the sea to give them the ‘Blessing of the Waters’. Several youth dive in. Louisa is not surprised to see Larry and his friends dive in too. She is more surprised when Gerry and Leslie also do that. She laughs: “the power of sibling rivalry”, Spiros laughs too: “that looks like fun. If only I was younger…”, she laughs: “not you too, Spiro, please!”, he turns towards her and makes a naughty smile: “you may need to distract me, so that I take my mind off that idea”, she smiles back. He hugs her, she hugs him, and they exchange a long kiss. Margot is standing by them, watching the youth in the water, looking for her brothers who keep diving and resurfacing for air while looking for the crucifixes. In that moment Florence and Dr. Petridis approach them. Florence laughs: “what is the excuse for this very public smooch?”, Margot laughs too: “the worst possible: it’s either this or Spiro will jump into the sea with the youth”. Meanwhile Louisa and Spiros have stopped kissing. They turn towards their friends, Louisa makes a smirk: “yea, he has blackmailed me!”, Margot laughs hard: “mother, you were so very willing!”, Spiros smirks: “thank you, Margot. I always get the blame!”, Louisa chuckles: “well that’s very easy to do!”. He hugs her again and makes a naughty smile: “then I will have to act on this _fame_ of mine”, he kisses her again. She happily kisses him back. Florence laughs: “Margot you were correct, she seems pretty willing to me, definitely a shared blame”, Dr. Petridis smiles: “and in front of the priest again!”, they all laugh now.
  * The priest has heard and is looking towards them. Spiros lets go of Louisa and whispers: “we’d better behave love, we still need him to celebrate our wedding”. Margot, agrees, also with low voice: “yes, the sinning may become too much for him to tolerate”. They all smile. In that moment, Larry, Gerry, and Leslie re-emerge from the sea, each triumphantly waving a cross. The priest approaches them: “you should give those to your mother and Mr. Halikiopoulos, to ensure they conduct themselves appropriately prior to their wedding next March”. He turns towards them with a smirk, then he adds: “assuming it is not too late”, Larry laughs: “no worries, Mr. priest, I have been keeping a close eye on them!”, Louisa and Spiros look at the priest, smiling. Florence and Dr. Petridis laugh. Spiros tries to look innocent: “of course, father!”, the priest chuckles: “yea, sure, sure… and my donkey can fly!”, Margot whispers: “good thing this priest has a sense of humor...”. They all laugh.

  * Monday, January 9th. After his usual morning taxi driver job, Spiros returns home. The children are all out. Him and Louisa have a small lunch together, then they drive to town. They park the car and walk to Kiriakos’ jewelry shop, “welcome to my shop, my friend, I am happy you have brought your better half with you, today”, he chuckles, then he takes Louisa’s hand with the engagement ring and lifts it up. He makes a big happy smile: “you have lost your bet, my friend, she has actually agreed to marry me”, “so I hear! That’s very surprising”, he looks at Louisa now, with a jokeful smile: “are you sure you want to marry this rascal?”, she laughs and goes along with the joke: “so far so good, but I do have time to change my mind between now and March 19th”, Spiros also goes along with the joke. He makes big puppy eyes and stares at her, looking rather pathetic: “change your mind and completely break my heart?!?!?”. She laughs sweetly and approaches him. They kiss. Spiros makes a happy smile: “we are here to choose our wedding bands, Kiriako”, “excellent, I have just received a shipment with the latest models”.
  * He points at two chairs. They sit down and Kiriakos takes out a tray with several wedding bands. They look at them for a while. Spiros looks at Louisa sweetly: “which one do you like, love?”, she smiles: “I do have one in my mind, but you say it first!”. He looks at them all carefully then he points at one. She makes a happy smile: “that is exactly the one I was looking at!”, Spiros smiles too: “I like it because it is simple, but it still has a bit of a decoration”, Louisa agrees: “my thought exactly! And I like that the decoration is so very Greek”, Kiriakos is listening: “you are clearly in full agreement. That’s a good sign. Maybe the two of you are a good match, after all”, Louisa smiles: “are you saying that I am a rascal too, Kiriako?”, Spiros’ laughs, Kiriakos blushes: “I meant that you may not change your mind between now and March,”, Louisa looks at Spiros with a sweet smile: “yea, I probably won’t. I am pretty happy to marry your rascal friend, Kiriako. Maybe that does mean I am a rascal too”, they all laugh, Spiros looks at her sweetly: “aren’t I happy you’d say that, Louisa?”. They kiss.
  * Kiriakos hands them two copies of the same band, one larger and one smaller. They try them on, Louisa smiles: “this fits nicely!”, Spiros shakes his head: “this is a bit too large”, Kiriakos smiles: “I can easily reduce it. We want to make sure you have no excuses to end up without your ring!”, Louisa chuckles: “yes, a reduction is most warranted!”, they laugh, then Spiros looks into her eyes: “with or without it, I will be always faithful to you, my love”, she smiles sweetly: “well, that sure is a key condition for our marriage to be happy, Spiro”, he kisses her: “I know, and you have no reasons to worry about that”, she smiles: “I know…”, they kiss again. Kiriakos smiles: “do you want anything engraved inside the rings?”, Spiros looks at her lovingly: “her name in mine”, she smiles back at him sweetly:” and his in mine. And the date of our wedding in both”, he looks at her with questioning eyes: “March 19, 1939?”, she nods: “yes, that date”, Kiriakos chuckles: “aren’t you sure of your wedding day, Spiro? That is NOT good, my friend! I’d be in so much trouble with my wife Theodora if I ever forgot it!”, she laughs: “no it’s just that we have two wedding dates, for the British and the Greek systems, but our Greek wedding is the main one, so we should have that date engraved in our rings”, Spiros smiles at her sweetly: “efcharisto’, agapimeni nyfi mou”, she smiles back: “parakalo’, agapi mou”. They kiss. 

(trnsl: thank you my beloved bride; you are welcome, my love)

  * That evening after dinner Louisa is washing dishes and Spiros is cleaning up the kitchen. The children are in the living room, playing a game. Spiros sneaks there, then speaks with low and secretive voice: “next week is your mother’s birthday, we need to plan a surprise party for her”, Larry sounds perplexed: “I’d be careful to that, Spiro, mother does not like to be reminded of her aging”, Spiros smiles: “oh I know that all too well, I have already got into trouble on that several times”, they all laugh, Margot inquires: “so how is this going to be different?”, Spiros smiles: “it isn’t, we will just make sure she has lots of fun and forgets all about aging!”, they laugh. In that moment they hear Louisa’s voice: “hey, is anyone going to help drying the dishes here?”, Spiros and Gerry run over, Gerry grabs a dishtowel and picks up a wet plate: “it’s my turn mother”, Spiros hugs her from behind and kisses her cheek: “always my turn, love. I’d take every excuse to be near your dazzling beauty”. She laughs, turns towards him and kisses him: “get a towel, then, my romantic, and start helping. The drying rack is completely full”, Spiros nods: “yea, ma’am, gonna do that now!”, she laughs: “you sound funny when you speak like an American, love”, “well that’s where I have learned my English”, she smirks: “I know, but we can work on that now…”, they all laugh.
  * Over the next few days Spiros and the children take every opportunity to talk secretly and make plans. Margot smiles: “excellent, we have a list of people we want to invite now. I will prepare the notes and post them tomorrow”. Larry smirks: “on the day of the party I will find an excuse to take her away from the house. Let me think about it. It will be a good excuse, I promise”, Leslie nods: “excellent, and the rest of us will prepare the house for the party, with decorations and music”, Spiros smiles: “I have talked with my parents. They are happy to help too. My mother will prepare several Greek dishes and the 5 of us can go there ahead of the party and use their kitchen to make English and Indian food, so that your mother does not see it”, Margot smiles: “very good!”, Spiros smiles happily: “the plans are coming along very nicely, thank you all for your help!”, Larry smirks: “I am still not sure how we will avert her usual mid-life crisis about her birthday”, Spiros smiles: “leave that to me, Larry, I will find a way to make her feel very young”, Larry smirks mischievously: “and we don’t need to know all of the details, Spiro!” they all laugh, he blushes: “your usual dirty-minded selves!”.

  * Later that week. Evening. After dinner and after all dishes are washed and put away, they are sitting in the living room, listening to the BBC news on the wireless. Louisa and Spiros are sitting on a sofa, holding hands. Their fingers interlaced. The news ends. Spiros turns the radio off: “I am not liking these Nazi and fascist regimes. They are polluting Europe with their ideologies”, Larry nods: “neither do I, Spiro, I wish we could stop them”, Louisa smiles sadly: “there is no point thinking about this too much. It only makes us all sad and worried, for no good. We can’t change politics”, Spiros looks at her sweetly: “you are so correct, my love, let’s think about something cheerful”, Leslie smiles. He knows exactly what he will reply, but he still asks: “for example?”, Spiros looks at Louisa: “our beautiful love and the upcoming Greek wedding that will celebrate it”, he leans towards Louisa and they exchange a soft loving kiss, Margot smiles: “you are always so romantic, Spiro”, Louisa smiles sweetly, then, speaks with serious voice: “well, we do have to think about our wedding. We need to prepare invitation cards. I’d like to send them out next week. This will give our friends and family two months to decide whether or not they can attend. It’d be lovely if at least some of our relatives and friends from India and England could come, despite the distance and the looming war”, Larry nods: “yes that would be nice, who would you like to invite?”, Louisa smiles: “I have several people in my mind, but I haven’t prepared a list yet”.
  * She gets up and goes to the writing table of the living room. She takes out the ink jar and smiles sweetly at Spiros: “your best friend, my love”, he makes a funny sulky face: “I know what that means, no romanticisms allowed”, she chuckles: “only the very careful type”, the children laugh, he gets up and goes near her, leans towards her lips very, very, carefully and gives her a soft kiss: “like this?”, she laughs sweetly: “yes, like that”, he gives her another gentle kiss and makes a funny face: “better than nothing, I guess”, they all laugh. He sits at the table near her. Louisa has a sheet of paper in front of her: “so let’s write a list, then”, she hands a piece of paper to Spiros: “you should write the names of the Greeks we want to invite and I will write the English and Indian family and friends”. They all begin saying names which Spiros and Louisa write down. At some point, Larry asks: “how about your brothers, uncles George and John from India?”, Louisa smiles: “of course! They are first in my list, even though I am afraid they won’t be able to attend. Their wives are both ill, unfortunately”, Margot sounds unsure: “and aunt Prudence”, Louisa looks at Spiros: “she is Lawrence’s sister…”, Spiros smiles: “I don’t mind it at all if you invite her. She is part of your family, love”, she smiles sweetly at him: “she is. She was very close to us when Lawrence died. She moved back to England with us and she helped us get settled at a time that I was not in my right mind”, Margot agrees: “she still lives in England. She has always remained in close contact with us all”, Louisa nods: “yes, she is the only member of our families, Dixie and Durrell, who approved our move to Corfu from the get go. She thought a change would do us all good. We write to each other regularly. She always asks about me and the children”, she looks at Spiros with sweet eyes now: “when I told her about you and me she was very supportive. She said she is happy if I am finally moving on with my life. She has actually been encouraging me to find love again, for quite some time. At some point, she even wrote that finding a Greek man may be a good idea, since I love being here so much”, Spiros looks at her lovingly: “I couldn’t be happier that you have followed her advice!”, she smiles at him sweetly: “so am I!”, they exchange a long love kiss. Larry smiles: “and I have received a letter full of ‘advice’ on my writing and how to ‘clean up’ my dirty books even yesterday”, Louisa smirks: “very sensible advice, son”, Spiros smiles: “it sounds like we should definitely invite her”, Louisa looks at him sweetly: “thank you, love”.
  * Spiros smiles: “of course! You should invite any member of the Durrell’s family you wish. They are your close relatives, after all”, he is looking at the children now. Larry smirks: “they may be closely related, but most of them are not as close and nice as our Dixie relatives”, Leslie agrees: “yes, except for aunt Prudence, they are always very critical of us”, Louisa nods: “they tend to be very conservative and they have always criticized how much freedom I allowed my children”, Spiros seems surprised: “oh, instead, I have always admired you for that, love. You have allowed each of them to develop their own independent personalities”, Margot agrees: “and encouraged us to cultivate our own interests”, Larry smirks: “whether you like them or not”, Gerry smiles: “I sure can’t complain. Your tolerance of my animals is admirable”, Larry nods: “it certainly beats mine”, Gerry smirks at Larry: “I have never thought you had any tolerance, brother”, Leslie chuckles: “neither have I”, they all laugh, Louisa chuckles: “stop bickering, children. Let’s go back to our wedding list”, Margot smirks: “well, of course, we mustn’t forget your cousin Prue, her husband Geoffrey, and their son Basil”, Louisa smiles: “of course! They have visited here before, with aunt Hermione. I’d expect they will come for our wedding”, Larry smirks: “whether they like the idea that you marry a Greek or not…”, Louisa makes a tight smile: “oh I know they don’t like it. They will just have to accept my decision”, Margot smiles: “they will come around when they see how happy you are together”, Spiros looks at Louisa lovingly: “very happy!”, they kiss sweetly. Margot chuckles: “watch that ink bottle, happy lovers!”, they all laugh. A happy family.


	25. Louisa’s birthday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Louisa's birthday. Spiros and her children throw a surprise party for her.  
News about Hugh.  
Wedding preps.

  * Monday 16th of January, 1939, Louisa’s 53rd birthday. Louisa and Spiros are in bed. She is asleep. He is awake, looking at her very lovingly. She opens her eyes and sees him. She smiles sweetly and talks with sleepy voice: “good morning my love, are you watching me sleep?”, he looks at her with very loving eyes: “I am admiring my sleeping beauty”, they kiss tenderly, then he caresses her face and whispers sweetly: “happy birthday, my love”. She immediately makes a frown and answers with sad voice: “thank you, love”, he hugs her: “why so upset? Birthdays happen to all of us. Every single year”, she smiles sweetly: “I know, but I hate aging. I feel so old”, “but you aren’t”, “well, 53 is not young!”, “not old either. Just middle age”, “well past that, unless you believe I will live to be 106”, Spiros smiles sweetly: “you are being silly, love. You are middle aged and I am happy you are. You wouldn’t love me if you were younger. You’d want a younger man”, she really frowns now: “well, you are younger than me. So you could definitely have a younger girlfriend”. He reaches for her lips and kisses her sweetly: “don’t say that, love, I’d never want anyone else, you know it!”, she really looks sad now: “you are 7 years younger than me….”, he interrupts her: "it’s actually 6 years. I will be 47 this year”, she looks at him with sad eyes: “6 or 7 is still a big difference. I often think about it, you know? How can you truly love this old lady?”, he kisses her again: “my love, you are not an old lady! And it makes no difference at all! We are just about the same age!”, he smiles at her with loving eyes. They kiss, Louisa sighs: “I am full of wrinkles…”, “you aren’t! You just have marks of your wonderful smile”, he smiles lovingly at her, they kiss, “well, those are wrinkles, aren’t they? And I have lots of those _marks_”, “so do I, love, it’s just part of life. And you know that I love you very much, smile lines and all”, she makes a sad, yet sweet, smile as she looks at him: “I love you too”, he makes a naughty smile: “even my wrinkles? Even my gray hair?”, she smiles at him: “everything, the whole package”.
  * He smiles back: “it’s the same for me, I love all of you, every single bit of you, with my brain, my heart, and my body, ever so very deeply”, he kisses her again, then he kisses her eyes: “I love these”, he kisses and sucks on her ear lobes: “and these”, her neck: “and this”, her breasts: “and these”, he gently sucks on her nipples until they harden: “and these”, all the while he is removing her and his own pajamas. They are both naked now. He continues. He kisses her belly: “and this”, then he opens her legs, he kisses her inner thighs: “and these”. He kisses and sucks her clitoris: “mmmm and I sure love this”, then reaches her sex, he kisses and licks it: “and I love this, so very much!”. Meanwhile she is giggling softly… and moaning. He keeps kissing and touching her body with light caresses. She responds with shivers of pleasure. Her moans become deeper and deeper. Then he approaches her and enters her easily. She is very ready. He makes love to her. She abandons herself to him, completely. He moves on her, tenderly at first, then more and more urgently, until they both come, with very deep sighs.
  * Afterwards they lay in bed, hugging for quite some time. She looks at him, with very loving, but sad, eyes: “don’t leave me for a younger woman, Spiro. I couldn’t bear it”, he looks at her with his eyes full of love: “that will never happen, my love, I will never leave you. I love you like crazy, how can I make you understand that?”, she smiles: “keep telling me”, he smiles back, moves close to her lips, and starts giving her soft loving kisses. After each kiss, he whispers sweetly: “I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you…”. She laughs softly: “and I love you”, he looks at her lovingly: “we are so lucky Louisa. Our love is so wonderful! Can’t you just be happy for what we have?”, she smiles: “you are right, love. I am very lucky to have you”, he smiles sweetly: “that’s not what I meant to say. And you know it. We are _both_ lucky because we have found each other and our love is so beautiful and so deep”, she smiles: “I know, we truly are lucky. I just wish I was younger”, he smiles sweetly: “I don’t!” she seems surprised now: “why not? You can’t truly mean it!”, he smiles at her very lovingly: “but I do! If we change anything, in either of us, then we may find out that our love is no longer so wonderful. I am convinced that one reason for our love can be so strong is that we are both mature and can experience our feelings so deeply. Young love can be beautiful, but it is not as deep”, she smiles: “yes, I must I agree with that, my philosopher, mature love is deeper because it is more aware”, “then we should just be happy for whom we are, age and all, because that’s what allows us to share this beautiful love. I am so happy with you, Louisa, that I wouldn’t trade our love for anything. Not even everlasting youth”, she kisses him and whispers: “neither would I”, he kisses her. They cuddle in bed for quite some time, hugging and cooing sweetly. They make love again. Then they get up, get ready, and go downstairs for breakfasts. 

  * As they enter the kitchen, the children greet them with: “happy birthday mother!”, she smiles back happily: “thank you all!”. The children look at Spiros, very, very, surprised. He winks at them with a silly smile. Margot smiles: “we made your favorite Indian breakfast, mother: spiced potatoes, dosas (thin crepes made of lentils), idlis (steamed rice-dough pancakes), and various dips and chutneys. Gerry adds: “we even made roti bread”. Louisa smiles happily: “my favorite! Thank you so much!”, she kisses each of her children, then she goes to the cooker to fill a plate with food”, Larry whispers: “I have never seen mother so happy on her birthday, how did you do that, Spiro?”, he makes a smirk: “my secret, Larry, I shall not reveal it”, the children laugh. Louisa returns to the table and puts her plate down: “why are you laughing?”, Margot smiles: “you look so happy with your Indian breakfast, mother”, Gerry nods: “we should make it more often”, Spiros wraps her in his arms: “indeed, anything to make my love happy”, they kiss, Margot smiles: “aww, you are always so romantic, Spiro”, he smiles sweetly, then looks at Louisa very, very, lovingly: “I just love your mother like crazy, Margot. One day you will feel the same about someone, then you will also want to say romantic things to him”. The children are all quiet. Louisa is rather blushed, looks into Spiros’ eyes deeply and whispers with very sweet voice: “I love you like crazy too…”. They hug tightly and exchange a long kiss. Leslie smirks: “wow, that was quite the dose of molasses”. They all smile and continue their breakfast.

  * After breakfast Margot, Leslie, and Gerry get a lift with Spiros, as usual, except that instead of work or lessons, he drives them to his parents. They all prepare food for the party. Meanwhile Larry and Louisa are at home. Spiros returns for lunch. Then, Larry looks at his mother with very sad eyes. The ‘worrier’ in her kicks in right away: “what is it, Larry? Anything wrong?”, he looks at her sadly: “well, yes, mother, I am worried about my friend in Kalami”, “what’s wrong?”, “she is missing her mom so badly, I am worried she will do something stupid”, “oh, I wish we could help her!”, he looks directly into her eyes: “well actually, I think _you_ could help her!”, she seems surprised: “me?!? How?”, “you are such a wonderful mother, maybe you could talk to her, the way only a mother can”, “of course, any time”, Larry looks at Spiros: “can we borrow your car?”, “of course Larry!”, “let’s go mother!”, “where?”, “to Kalami, to talk to my friend!”, she seems surprised: “right now?”, “right now!”, Spiros smiles: “sure why not? I can take care of washing dishes here”, Louisa relents: “fine, then”. Spiros kisses her, then Louisa and Larry leave for Kalami.

  * As soon as they leave, Spiros washes and puts the dirty dishes away. Then he prepares the tables for the food. Then he blasts one of Leslie’s guns in the air. It’s the signal. Margot, Gerry, and Leslie hear it and walk to the house, each carrying a large tray with food. Spiros parents load the rest of the food and drinks in a cart and go there too, with their donkey. They lay the food and drinks on the tables, then they put several candles and decorations around the house. Then they move the furniture to create a dance floor. Margot has prepared a large ‘happy birthday’ banner. They hang it on the kitchen wall, well visible from the door to the veranda where Louisa is going to enter the house. The house is ready. Shortly after that, the musicians and the guests arrive. They have invited their mother’s best friends. The Petridis, the Stephanides, the countess and Dennis, the consul and Soula, the judge and Georgia, Alecko and Irene, Dimitra and Christos, and of course, Spiros’ parents, Lugaretzia, Mihalis and Katherini. The countess arrives on her horse-driven carriage, with Dennis. Dennis carries a case of champagne and she carries a large tray with several vol-au-vents: “my French contribution to the party!”, Spiros takes the tray and puts it on a table, then he hugs her: “thank you very much countess, I know Louisa loves vol-au-vents!”, Gerry agrees: “so do we!”, Margot smiles: “especially Larry, he loves all things French”, the countess laughs: “even escargots!”, Leslie scowls: “blah!”, they all laugh.
  * Florence asks: “where is Louisa?”, Spiros chuckles: “in Kalami with Larry, chasing one of his bohemian friends”, Margot looks puzzled: “chasing?”, Spiros laughs: “he told her his friend needed a motherly talk, then he took the car and drove her to Kalami”, Margot smiles: “he really touched her soft motherly spot, eh?”, Spiros laughs sweetly: “he did!”, they all laugh. Spiros walks to the house door: “I should move the vehicles to the back of the house now, so that Louisa cannot guess visitors are here”, Leslie agrees: “good point, let me help you”, Gerry nods: “me too”. After moving the carts and carriage to the back of the house, they join the guests inside. Just in time. They hear the car’s honk. Spiros whispers: “quiet every one, they are here!!”. Louisa and Larry get off the car. She walks in and suddenly everybody shouts: “happy birthday!!”. The musicians play the happy birthday song and the guests all sing to it. She looks completely surprised: “oh my God, I can’t believe you are all here for me!”, Spiros approaches her with a big smile, hugs and kisses her: “surprise, my love, happy birthday!”, she is really moved and cries in the crook of his neck. He wraps her in his loving arms, caressing and kissing her hair. She looks up at him with a sweet smile. They kiss again. Florence smiles sweetly: “somehow, smooching is always on the agenda”, Maria agrees: “a staple on this household’s menu”, Leslie laughs sweetly: “you can say that!”, Margot smiles: “it’s never missing”, Gerry changes topic: “well, let’s all go for the rest of the menu, now!”, Leslie smiles: “yes we have all sort of food, including Indian, Theo!”, “excellent, thank you!”, Margot warns him: “this time we made it, Theo, so it won’t be as good as mother’s”, Gerry nods: “yes, her Indian cooking is unbeatable”. Theo picks up a pakora and eats it: “it’s delicious!”, Maria is eating one too: “it is! Thank you! You always make my husband very happy!”, he looks at her sweetly: “_you_ make me happy, dear”, she smiles at him. They kiss. Florence smirks: “not only smooching is always on the menu here, it is also contagious, somehow”, her husband hears her and hugs her: “is that a complaint?”, he looks into her eyes lovingly and kisses her, she giggles and looks at him sweetly: “it can’t be, can it?”.
  * Louisa and Spiros approach. She hugs them all: “thank you so much for being here. All of you!”, Alecko smiles: “you should thank your children and Spiro for the fantastic organization”, Gerry adds: “and Spiros’ parents for preparing the Greek food and letting us use their kitchen to prepare the English and Indian food”, Christos nods: “yes, and Larry for finding an excuse to take you away from the house while the rest of them prepared it for the party”, Louisa looks at Larry: “oh, that’s why we drove all the way to Kalami, just to find that your mysterious friend in need of a motherly chat had just left the village!”, they all laugh, Margot chuckles: “well, he did say he’d find a very good excuse”, Leslie sneers: “he is well practiced. He writes made-up stories all day!”, Larry scowls: “very funny, brother”, Louisa steps in: “enough sibling squabbling now!”, Margo chuckles: “yes, at least on her birthday, brothers!”. They all laugh. In that moment Galini arrives smiling: “I was told there was a party here, happy birthday Mrs. Durrell!”, Louisa smiles: “thank you, Galini!”, Gerry walks up to her, with a big smile. He hugs her and they kiss. A long, sensual kiss. Louisa looks at Spiros, he smiles: “yes, I have”, she laughs: “what?”, “I have talked to him about contraception the other day”, “how did you know what I was going to ask?”, he smiles at her sweetly: “I can read your mind, my love”, she smiles back: “yes you can”, he hugs her and whispers in her ear: “good thing _we_ don’t need to worry about contraception, love”, she smiles sweetly: “I knew you’d say that. I could read it in your mind…”. They laugh softly. They kiss.

  * Spiros picks up his guitar, talks to the musicians, then begins playing a very slow and very sweet tune. The musicians follow. Spiros sings several very romantic songs, in Greek and in English, all the while looking at Louisa with very loving eyes. All of the happy couples of their friends dance to the slow rhythm, their bodies very close to each-other, including Spiros’ parents and Gerry and Galini. Meanwhile the other Durrell siblings sit around Lugaretzia, the countess, and Dennis and chat very amicably, enjoying the nice music and singing. The countess smiles: “Spiro has a really nice voice. Very warm”, Margot agrees: “and mother makes him be so very romantic”, Leslie smirks: “because he loves her like crazy”, the countess smiles: “that’s very sweet, Leslie”, Margot smiles sweetly: “they are Spiro’s words. That’s what he has told her this morning during breakfast”, Larry smirks: “and nobody knows what he has told her ahead of it, to make her look so happy on her birthday”, Leslie nods: “yea, she is usually really very grumpy”, Larry adds: “she hates the idea of aging”, Margot smiles: “but this year Spiro did the magic”, the countess smiles too: “it’s not hard to believe. He really knows how to take her”, Margot agrees: “yes, he is perfect for her”, Larry nods: “a real soulmate”, the countess smiles: “I think it goes both ways. She really knows how to take him too", Leslie agrees: “yes, she smooths his edges really well”, Margot nods: “I find they really understand each other. They don’t even need to talk and they know what the other is thinking”, the countess smiles: “very true. It’s a beautiful mutual understanding they share”, Leslie smirks: “and she knows how to make him do what she wants”, Margot sneers: “that is normal, that is what women do with their men, you might as well know it, brothers”, the countess laughs: “that’s because we know better!”, Larry chuckles: “I am afraid I have to admit that is correct”, they all laugh.
  * Meanwhile Spiros has stopped singing. Him and Louisa are kissing. A very long kiss, while hugging very tightly. Gerry takes Larry’s guitar, and begins a Greek traditional dance music. The musicians follow along. The Durrell siblings all get up and start dancing to it. Many of their friends join them. They make a fairly large circle and they dance around Louisa and Spiros who are still kissing. The dance ends and the two of them are still at it. Maria laughs: “they didn’t even notice the music is over”, their friends are all looking at them, giggling. Margot makes a sweet smile: “they are lost in their own world”, Larry chuckles: “this time they will do it right there, on the dance floor”, Margot laughs: “someone must stop them. Young children are in the room”, she is looking at Mihalis and Katherini who are running around playing, seemingly oblivious to their father and Louisa’s behavior. Leslie chuckles: “they are very used to the smooches. They witness lots of those”, they laugh. Larry smiles: “I know how to stop that”, he picks up his guitar and begins playing The Blue Danube Waltz, smiling: “their favorite”. The musicians follow his lead and accompany him. Spiros and Louisa hear the music and begin dancing, smiling sweetly at each other. The other couples dance too, including Spiros’ parents, now that they can both dance waltzes. Leslie invites Lugaretzia and she accepts with a shy/happy smile. Dennis blushes, invites the countess and leads her in the waltz quite nicely. Margot invites Larry and they have fun dancing the waltz. She is very good and so is Larry.
  * The musicians continue playing several dances, alternating between Greek and non-Greek music. They all enjoy them and keep dancing for quite a while. At some point Dimitra and Christos sit on a sofa at the back of the room, resting after all the dancing. The consul notices that and him and Soula approach Dimitra. He hands her an envelope. She opens it and looks at Christos happily: “my British passport!”, the consul nods: “yes, I have received the approval of your application this morning and I’ve issued this right away. However, it is not technically valid yet. I have dated it February 6th, the day after your wedding, so that you don’t reacquire the Greek citizenship by marriage and lose your British citizenship”, Dimitra smiles: “good thinking consul, thank you so much!”, the consul smiles: “on February 6th I will communicate it to the Greek authorities, who will revoke your Greek citizenship”, she looks sad now. Christos hugs her: “you knew it’d happen, love. Don’t worry, we will re-apply for it as soon as we can return here”, she looks at him: “I know, it still seems strange. I have been Greek all of my life. I love my country”, they hug and kiss. Soula smiles: “I know how you are feeling. I lost my Greek citizenship too, when I married a British national. I was sad at first but then I realized it didn’t really change who I am. It’s just a piece of paper”. Larry has been watching the scene and has guessed what it is about. He goes to his room and returns with the last of the forms he has prepared. He hands it to Dimitra: “here is the application for Christos’ British citizenship. You only need to add your passport number and signature”, “thank you so much, Larry”, they smile at each other. The consul takes the filled form: “excellent, I will process this on February 6th”, Soula smiles: “and we will all meet up in England one day, and celebrate our friendship with Greek food and dances”. They all smile.

  * The next day. Afternoon. Louisa is sitting at the kitchen table, with several cards. Gerry is doing his homework at a small table. Spiros approaches Louisa very, very, slowly: “that bloody ink is out again. She laughs: “why don’t you sit and help me, love? I am writing wedding invitations. I need you to write the Greek cards”, she closes the ink bottle. He makes a happy smile, sits next to her and gives her a loving kiss: “of course, happy to perform my marital duties, as always, my English beauty”. She laughs sweetly. They kiss again, then she re-opens the ink bottle: “careful how you move now, my handsome Greek”, he smiles sweetly: “of course, always! What should I write?”, she hands him a card: “this is what I have been writing in English. You should write something similar in Greek”. He tries a few drafts, then he seems happy with what he has and starts copying the same Greek text in several cards. She continues writing the English cards.

  * Gerry is looking at them with a sweet smile. He goes back to his homework, looking very busy. In actuality, he is very distracted by the dormice he has hidden in his school bag. Louisa speaks with stern voice: “I see that, Gerry, bring those critters outside. You know the rule: no animals in the house while you are doing your homework”, he looks surprised, then laughs: “I’d swear she has eyes on the back of her head. You should consider this as a warning, Spiro”, he giggles: “I know that already and I am always very, very, careful”, she chuckles: “I just know you all too well, son. Bring those dormice outside, now”, he rolls his eyes: “yes mother”, he gets up and walks towards the door, “and do make sure you return to your homework promptly, Gerry, you will tend to your animals later!”, he rolls his eyes again: “yes mother!”, then he turns to Spiros: “not only she has extra eyes, she can also read minds!”, Spiros laughs sweetly: “I know, she reads mine too, and I love it when she does that”, he slowly and carefully leans towards her. They kiss tenderly.
  * In the next couple of days Louisa and Spiros finish writing all of the wedding invitations, put the cards in envelopes, seal them all, put stamps on them, and post them. Louisa smiles: “good job, love! Now I am curious to see who will attend”, “the replies should be coming in soon, my love. I hope your friends and family from England and India can join us”, he looks at her sweetly: “I know they’ll make you happy. And nothing makes me happier than your happiness”, she smiles at him sweetly: “_you_ make me happy, my love”, he hugs her: “then we are caught in a self-alimenting _vicious_ circle of happiness”. They smile at each other very lovingly. They kiss. A long love kiss.

  * A few days later. Late afternoon. Spiros returns home with all of the Durrell’s siblings in the car with him. Louisa approaches: “welcome back you all, perfect timing, I have just prepared tea”, Spiros approaches her, they hug and kiss: “excellent, thank you my beloved British fiancée”. He hands her several envelopes: “I’ve stopped at the post office. The replies to our wedding invitations are starting to come in”. She takes the envelopes and goes over them: “this is from Alecko’s law office. It is written in Greek”, she hands it to Spiros. He looks at it. It is addressed to both of them. He opens and reads it. Louisa is looking at him, curious. He looks serious, Louisa asks: “what is it love?”, “nothing important, I can tell you later”, she looks at him with stern gaze: “I know that is not true, Spiro, what does that letter say?”, Gerry smirks: “told you, she reads minds”, Spiros makes a tight smile: “yes she does”, then he looks at her: “let’s all sit down for tea first”. They sit down in the living room. The coffee table is all set up with scones, biscuits, jams, chutneys, and a large teapot. Margot serves tea. They are all serious now, waiting. Spiros sits on the sofa next to Louisa and takes her hands in his: “it is an official victim communication from the tribunal. Hugh has been released from jail”. They are all silent. Louisa looks upset now. He hugs her and gives her a soft loving kiss: “I am sorry, my love”, her voice trembles: “but he received an 8-year sentence only a few weeks ago. How is this possible?”, he wraps his arms around her and caresses her: “he has paid a very high bail. According to the bail conditions, he was supposed to remain on the island, but he is already on his way to England”. She is crying in his arms, now, her face buried in his neck: “this is very unfair, after what he has done to me…”, he is hugging her, caressing her, and kissing her softly. The children are all watching quietly. Leslie speaks first, very angry: “I am so disappointed with the justice system!”.
  * In that moment Alecko and Irene walk in, Alecko sees his letter on the table, open: “I was hoping we’d get here before you read it. I had meant to deliver it in person, but my secretary has sent it with the morning post. I have only realized it a few minutes ago”, Irene approaches Louisa who is still crying on Spiro’s shoulder: “I am so sorry, Louisa, this is so unfair!”, Leslie still sounds quite angry: “how is this possible? How can a convicted rapist get bail so early?”, Larry guesses: “he has probably bribed his way into it”, Alecko nods: “Stavros has waited for our British judge and Georgia to be away on holiday and has put in the request for a bail hearing with another bilingual judge who is notoriously corrupt. I cannot prove it, but I am sure they have bribed him”, Louisa lifts her head, still with teary eyes: “do sit down and join us for tea!”, Gerry moves two chairs near the coffee table. They sit down. Larry picks up fresh tea cups and serves them tea, Irene makes a sad smile: “thank you. I am so sorry Louisa, this must be so upsetting”, Spiros is still hugging her, she is crying in the crook of his neck again. He kisses her hair and caresses her lovingly. Margot is upset too: “how is it possible that he’d left Greece if his bail was to be served in Corfu’?”, Alecko explains: “he has paid a fisherman to take him to the mainland, then he took the ferry to Brindisi from Igoumenitsa. He must have had counterfeit documents. His British passport had been revoked and I am sure the consul would never issue another. He is known to be incorruptible”.
  * Larry looks at Louisa: “mother, as upsetting as this may be, we should be happy that he has left the country. It’d be a lot worse if he was still nearby. You’d never be able to feel relaxed again. You’d always worry you may come across him, or worse, that he may come here”, she lifts her head up, then whispers with teary voice: “you are right, Larry, at least I know I won’t see him again”. Spiros, speaks with loving voice: “and we can focus on our wedding plans and our special day, my love”, she looks at him, her eyes still teary: “yes, very special”, they kiss sweetly. He dries her tears with his handkerchief and kisses her softly. He has done the magic, again. Louisa looks calmer now.
  * Margot picks up the tray with the sweets and hands it towards the others: “let’s have our tea before it gets cold”. Irene picks up a scone: “these are always so good, Louisa. I have tried making them following the recipe you gave me, but mine were not as good. You must have a secret ingredient!”, Louisa smiles: “not really, it must be something in the way I make them that makes the difference. You should come here at some point and we can make them together”, Irene smiles: “I’d be happy to!”, Alecko agrees: “me too, I’d be very happy if you learned to make scones like these, Irene, they are so good!”, she looks at him with a sweet smile but stern eyes: “you could learn too, my dear!”, they all laugh, Spiros intercedes: “then you can both come here and learn together”, Irene smirks: “very diplomatic, Spiro”, Alecko laughs, then looks at his wife sweetly: “and diplomacy is the secret to a happy marriage, my friend”, Spiros laughs: “I know, I have been practicing it hard!, Louisa sounds perplexed: “hard?”, Spiros looks at her sweetly: “I want to make sure our marriage is happy”, Louisa makes a pretend angry voice: “and is that _hard_?”, Larry laughs: “that was not diplomatic at all, Spiro!”, Margot chuckles: “careful, sir…”, Gerry smirks: “yes, careful, you know she can read minds”, they all laugh, then Spiros turns towards her, and speaks with very loving voice: “then you should be able to read how much I love you”, she looks into his eyes and smiles very sweetly. They kiss tenderly. They all smile. 

  * The next day they visit the countess. They are having their usual tea. Spiros remarks: “we have some upsetting news”, with broken voice, Louisa tells her about Hugh’s release. The countess sounds sad: “I am very sorry, it is very unfair”, Spiros has his arm around Louisa’s shoulders and looks at her lovingly: “as you can see, she is quite upset about it”, the countess shifts from ‘friend’ to ‘doctor’ mode, now: “I can see that, and rightly so. Do you feel like telling us how you are feeling, Louisa?”, her eyes are teary now and her voice shaky: “I feel a mix of anger, disappointment, and fear”, “let’s talk about the latter. Why fear?”, “knowing that he was in jail made me feel safe. Now I am scared again”, Spiros hugs her: “I will never allow him near you, my love”, she smiles at him sweetly: “I know…”, the doctor intervenes: “your fear is very understandable, Louisa. Hugh has hurt you so much! But now he is actually further from you than when he was in jail. In a sense, you are safer now than before”, Louisa answers with trembling weak voice: “I know…”, “I know, you know, my dear. When you experience that fear, you need to remind yourself that he has left the country.”, she looks at her with teary eyes: “I will do that, thank you, doctor”, the doctor continues: “you said you also feel angry and disappointed”, she replies with teary and frustrated voice: “I hate that he was able to bribe his way out of jail so easily, after what he has done to me!”, she is crying now. Spiros hugs her and caresses her, the doctor continues: “yes that is very upsetting. Can you tell me what the most upsetting part of it is, Louisa?”, she thinks a bit, then answers with teary and angry voice: “that I cannot do anything about it. It just happened. I didn’t even know he had applied for bail”, the doctor agrees: “yes that is upsetting, but had they told you, you would have had to go through another tribunal experience and that would likely have been even more upsetting”, Louisa nods: “you are right. It’s better this way”, the countess adds: “not good, but better than the alternative”, Louisa smiles sweetly: “you are so good, doctor, thank you”, the doctor smiles: “my friend, you have come a very long way since Hugh’s assault. And your life has moved on so wonderfully. Don’t allow his release from jail to spoil your happiness. He is not worth it”, Louisa agrees with stronger voice: “he isn’t!”, the doctor adds: “and your very special day is closer and closer. You will soon celebrate your beautiful love”, Louisa looks at Spiros very sweetly. Spiros hugs and kisses her. She returns his kiss. The doctor smiles: “let’s focus on that, then”, Louisa smiles: “yes!”, Spiros takes his handkerchief and dries her tears, looking at her very, very, lovingly.

  * Spiros smiles: “we have sent out all wedding invitations”, the countess nods: “I know, I have received mine”, Spiros smiles: “and some replies are starting to arrive, from people who are nearby for now, but we should hear from friends and family in England and India soon. The countess makes a happy smile: “that’s exciting, meanwhile I have talked to the decorators. They say they can come by tomorrow afternoon to discuss the flower arrangement for the gardens. Will you be able to be here for that? I can change the appointment if you can’t”, Louisa smiles: “tomorrow afternoon works well”, the countess smiles: “excellent”, then she becomes serious: “with regards to your wedding, there is something I have been wanting to mention to you”, Spiros, sounds curious: “what is it?”, “well, I hope this does not come across the wrong way. I really mean well”, they are both curious now, Louisa smiles sweetly: “we’d never think badly about anything you say, countess”, she pauses a bit, then speaks with her eyes down: “well, I have been thinking a lot lately. Your friendship has become very important to me. I have not felt this happy in a very long time”, she looks at them and makes a sweet/sad smile, then she looks down again: “as you know, I was very depressed. I hardly ever left my house. I kept mourning my husband and I was stuck in that deep sadness. Your friendship has pulled me out of that. I still miss my husband, but thanks to you, I am being able to also enjoy life again”, she looks at them and smiles: “the patient has become the doctor and the doctor has become the patient”, Louisa smiles sweetly, she knows what she means, her and Spiros have noticed the change and have talked about that: “we are truly happy if you find happiness in our friendship, countess”, Spiros smiles: “as you know, we think of you as a member of our family,”, the countess smiles sweetly: “and you are like family to me. I never thought I’d feel like this again”.
  * The countess looks at them directly now: “as a member of your family, I’d like to cover for all of your wedding expenses”, Louisa and Spiros look very surprised now, Louisa speaks first: “but we can’t allow that!”, “why not? As you know, I have more money than I can spend and I don’t have a long life in front of me. I have no children and no close family to leave my money to. I’d much rather spend it on you than anybody else. I’d be so happy if you allowed me to use some of it for your special day”, Louisa and Spiros are both quiet. The countess looks worried now: “oh I hope you are not upset!”, Louisa smiles sweetly: “we could never be upset with you, countess. Please, allow us to think about this and give you an answer in a few days…”, Spiros smiles sweetly: “this offers means a lot to me, whether we decide to accept it or not, because it comes from the heart”, the countess smiles sweetly: “it does!”, Louisa gets up and the two women hug.
  * Spiros smiles sweetly: “since we are opening our hearts, there is something we have been keeping in our hearts that is bothering both of us”, Louisa is looking at him, she knows where he is going, the countess looks at him with a sweet smile. Spiros continues: “we are busily making plans to take our family to safety to England, yet one very important member of our family is refusing to go with us”, the countess smiles sweetly: “you don’t give up easily, do you?”, he makes a sad smile: “how can we? This is very important. We are talking about your safety”, Louisa agrees: “and we truly care about it”, Spiros nods: “very much”. The countess looks very moved, her eyes are teary: “I have told you why I can’t go with you. Leaving this house is like leaving my husband”, Spiros speaks up: “but it isn’t! He is in your heart. He will be with you, wherever you go”, Louisa looks sad now: “I know how you feel. I did not want to leave our home in India either. I probably would have never left if it wasn’t for my children, but Spiro is correct. Your husband will be with you. You wouldn’t be able to leave him behind, even if you wanted to, not until you are ready for it”, Spiros smiles sweetly: “now you have us. Can’t we be for you what Louisa’s children were for her? The motivation to move on, the reason for caring about yourself and your own safety. I knew your husband. He truly loved you. He wouldn’t want you to stay here. He’d want you to be safe”. The countess is crying now. Louisa gets up and hugs her: “I am so sorry we made you cry, countess… we talk like this because we truly care about you …”, Spiros nods: “we do!”
  * Spiros adds: “you are offering your money to us, using the argument that you consider us like family. But then you wouldn’t join us, as a family, on our way to safety”. They are all quiet now. Louisa looks at him with stern eyes and talks with angry voice now: “that was _very_ unfair, Spiro. Those are different things. You are mixing mundane and truly important matters. What are you trying to say? We are concerned about our friend’s safety whether we decide to accept her generous offer of not”, Spiros looks very contrite now: “countess, I am very sorry. It sounded like I was blackmailing you! I did not mean to imply that. It came out completely wrong! I so apologize! I hope you are not upset”. The countess has stopped crying and looks at the two of them: “I am not upset. I am very moved by your words and I understand why you’d put those two things in those terms, Spiro. You are correct on one aspect: the motivation behind my offer is that I am very fond of you. I have come to see you as part of my family and it seems the same has happened to you”, Louisa smiles sweetly: “it has!”, the countess smiles now: “let’s all take time to think about our reciprocal proposals, then”, Louisa nods: “but not in a quid pro quo fashion”, Spiros is still very apologetic: “I am sorry I have put it that way. I truly am”, the countess smiles at him: “I know you meant well, my friend. No harm done”. He gets up and hugs her: “but I do hope you will decide to go with us”, she returns his hug, smiling: “I know”.

  * A few days later, end of January 1939. Spiros and Louisa are in the kitchen, preparing dinner together. Both are wearing aprons. Spiros is busily cutting vegetables. Louisa is mixing chopped onions, eggs, and various herbs and spices into ground meat, for meatloaf. Gerry is sitting at a table in a corner, doing his homework: “mère et Spiros cuisent. Je suis heureux que tout le monde prépare le diner”, Louisa smiles: “parce que mon fils a très faim”, Spiros laughs: “I am hungry too!”, she looks at him sweetly: “I did not realize you understood French, love”, he chuckles: “only the very important words. Faim is one of them”, Gerry smirks: “of course, it is essential for survival!”, Spiros laughs: “yes, faim, pain et vin”, Louisa laughs too: “all of the essentials for life?”, Spiros turns towards her and looks into her eyes lovingly: “et l’amour… très essentiel…”, she looks back at him sweetly. They kiss. Gerry smiles: “toujours très romantique”, Spiros smiles sweetly: “oui, toujours, pour ta belle mère!”, and kisses Louisa again. She happily kisses him back.

(trnsl: mother and Spiros are cooking. I am happy that everybody is making dinner; because my son is very hungry; yes, hunger, bread and wine; and love… very essential…; always very romantic; yes, always, for your beautiful mother)

  * Leslie walks in, back from work. He puts several envelopes on the table, then smiles: “sorry If I am interrupting your smooching, lovebirds. I’ve stopped at the post office. Lots of letters from England and India today”, Louisa smiles: “oh replies to our wedding invitations!”, Spiros looks at her sweetly: “go ahead, love, open them. I can finish preparing that meatloaf”. She washes her hands and dries them in her apron, then she sits down and begins opening the letters: “aunt Prudence says she can come for the wedding and is very excited about it”, Spiros, holding his dirty hands up, goes near her and gives her a loving kiss: “I am very happy for you!”, Margot has just entered the room, back from work, and has heard the last exchange: “I am happy too. Aunt Prudence can be pedantic but she is very sweet and caring”. Louisa opens another letter and smiles: “aunt Patience says she can come too, but her mother Sarah does not feel like taking the long trip. That’s understandable. Great-aunt Sarah is quite elderly by now.”, Leslie smirks: “good, one less hyper critical pedantic relative”, Margot laughs: “aunt Patience is pedantic too, but she also knows how to show care”, Gerry smirks: “you say that only because she gives you money when you ask”, they all laugh. Louisa smiles: “that’s very true, Gerry!”, Margo looks cross: “but I also patiently listen to hours and hours of her _advice_”, Gerry chuckles: “well-paid patience”, they all laugh again.
  * Meanwhile Larry has joined them too. Louisa reads another letter and makes a sad smile: “as expected, neither of my brothers can come from India. Their wives are not well and the trip is too long” Larry smiles: “well, that’s understandable”, she reads the letter: “Dear beloved sister, we were excited to receive the invitation to your wedding. As you know, we are delighted that you have found love again and we are both really happy that you are moving on after such a long sad period in your life. We send our best wishes and our blessing for your marriage with Mr. Spyridon Halikiopoulos. We have recently received a thick envelope, containing a letter from each of your children. They all talk about Mr. Halikiopoulos very highly and tell us that he truly is your soulmate. We are very happy for you and we wish we could join you on this very important day in your life. Unfortunately, as you know, both or our wives are not well and we’d rather not leave their sides to go on such a long trip at these difficult political times. John says he’d love to be able to give you away again, but he knows that Larry will be a fantastic substitute. Please give our regards to Mr. Halikiopoulos. We are sure he knows he is a very lucky man. Love as always, from both of us and our families, your brother George”, Margot smiles: “that is such a sweet letter! A very different tone from most of our Durrell relatives”, Leslie agrees: “yes, most of the Dixies are being very supportive of your choice, mother”, Louisa wipes a tear: “yes, they are a loving family. Thank you all for writing to them so positively about Spiro”, Margot smiles: “we just wrote what we think, mother. You know we all love Spiro”, Gerry nods: “and he truly is your sandhill crane soulmate”, Louisa laughs: “did you actually write that, Gerry, that Spiro is a sandhill crane?’, Larry chuckles: “he did! Good thing our uncles know of his naturalistic obsession!”, Leslie smiles: “they say you loved animals too, mother, and that as a little girl you always had some disgusting creatures in your hands”, Louisa laughs: “so I did!”, Gerry smirks: “and you complain about my zoo!”, she smiles: “I never did set up a whole zoo, son, but I must admit I have brought home all sorts of animals, from squirming worms, to snakes that I had no idea were actually poisonous. My mother and my ayah were always so horrified by that”, Gerry chuckles: “and India has some pretty dangerous reptiles. I will remind you of that the next time you complain about my very innocuous Greek lizards and turtles!”, they all laugh.
  * Meanwhile Spiros is done preparing food. The meatloaf is wrapped in a cloth and is cooking in boiling water on the cooker top and the vegetables are ready for sautéing with Louisa’s famous curry mixes. He looks at the children with a sweet smile: “thank you all, I am very grateful you are so supportive of our union”. The children all smile at him, Leslie smirks: “keep cooking like that, Spiro, and we will be even more supportive”, they all laugh. Then Spiros washes his hands, and walks up to the chair where Louisa is sitting. He hugs her from behind: “I am sorry, my love, I know how happy you’d be if your brothers could join us”, he leans towards her lips and they kiss: “my brother Yiannis, who still lives in America, will not come either. Too long a trip”, she smiles at him sweetly: “I am sorry about that, love. At least your other two brothers, who live in Corfu’, can attend, and so will several other members of your family”, Larry smirks: “yea, it seems to be a very long list!”, Spiros laughs: “yea, us, Greeks, keep track of fairly distant relations”, Gerry chuckles: “even when genetically they are not actually more related to you than any member of the community”, they all laugh, Leslie smirks: “you spend way too much time with Theo, brother”, Margot smiles: “yes, you talk like him”, Gerry blushes, Spiros puts his arm on his shoulder: “well, if that is what Theo has told you, he is absolutely correct. In my family we call ‘cousin’ people with whom I have only very distant relation. A good example is, _cousin_ Petros; his great-grandmother and my grandmother were first cousins!”, Gerry chuckles: “my point exactly, genetically, you are almost not related at all!”, they all laugh.
  * Louisa opens the last envelope: “here are the winners of the get-to-Corfu’ contest. Cousin Prue, her husband Geoffrey, and their son Basil have already bought tickets. They will get to Corfu mid-February”, Leslie counts on the calendar: “that’s more than 5 weeks ahead of the wedding, those bastards!”, Louisa scolds him: “wash your mouth, son!”, Larry sounds angry too: “why should he? We all know what that means!”, Louisa nods, with a serious look on her face, Spiros looks puzzled, “what?”, Louisa looks at him sweetly: “they will try to convince me not to marry you, love”, Leslie nods: “yea, I am sure they are coming that early so that they have time to talk mother out of it”, Gerry almost shouts, with angry voice: “so typical, always meddling in other people’s lives”, Leslie sounds exasperated: “especially _our_ lives. Why don’t they just leave our family alone?”. Spiros looks at Louisa with sad eyes now. Louisa notices that. She gets up, puts her arms around his waist, and leans towards his lips: “they won’t succeed, love, of course I will marry you”, his sad face instantly turns into a bright happy smile, he hugs her and they kiss. She looks at him sweetly: “I love you, Spiro. Nobody can take me away from you. Neither family nor friends”, he smiles very happily, then whispers with very sweet voice: “I love you too”, they kiss again. A long kiss. The children are all watching, smiling sweetly. Margot smiles: “I am not worried, mother. As soon as they witness this kind of interactions, your cousins will see that the two of you are meant to be together”, Louisa smirks: “I am not that optimistic, my dear romantic daughter. They won’t be convinced that easily. Frankly, I am not worried about it at all. They will just have to accept my decision. And they will get used to it in time”, Spiros smiles: “oh, instead, I like to believe Margot. They will see how happy we are together and they will be happy for you”, Louisa smiles at him sweetly: “yes, let’s believe that, my romantic”, they kiss again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Louisa Durrell was born on the 16th of January, 1886. So in 1939 she turned 53. That's 10 years older than Keely Hawes (who plays her role in the TV series and is 43)
> 
> Spiros Halikiopoulos was born in 1892. so he was, indeed, 6 years younger than Louisa, 47 in 1939 (Alexis Georgoulis, who plays Spiros, is 45)
> 
> I have decided to go with the historic facts here, with an older Louisa then we are used to. Hope you don't mind that. :-)


	26. Of weddings and wedding preparations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dimitra's and Christo's wedding is here.  
And wedding plans for Louisa and Spiros continue.  
Family life continues too, with the 5 Durrells + 1 (Spiros) + 2 (Mihalis and Katherini)

  * A few days later, it’s Sunday, February 5th, 1939. The day of Dimitra and Christos’ wedding. In the morning Spiros drops Louisa off at their house to help Dimitra, her koumbara Thoula and 3 other parakoumbares prepare for her big day. The other women all speak only Greek. Dimitra does some translating, but she is also pleasantly surprised at how well Louisa is managing to communicate in Greek. “I am impressed with your progress in Greek, Louisa”, she smiles: “Spiros has been teaching me. We have been doing lessons 2 or 3 times a week for several months now”, “well, the results are striking!”, she is blushed now: “thank you, Dimitra, but enough of me. Let’s focus on you now. It’s your special day!”. They smile at each other, and Louisa and the other women continue preparing Dimitra. They help her do her hair, her make-up, and her dress, until she is ready. “you look so lovely, Dimitra, Christos will be very happy with what he sees!”, she smiles: “well, I sure hope so!”, they laugh. Meanwhile, Spiros, the koumbaro, and a few parakoumbaroi, help Christos get ready in a separate room. They keep all doors closed, to make sure Christos does not see the bride before church.
  * Once Christos is ready Spiros drives him and the other men to church, then he picks up Dimitra’s father and drives him to the house. He will go to church with his daughter to ‘give’ her to Christos in marriage. The conversation between the two men is awkward, he has given his daughter away before… to Spiros, so it seems odd now that he’d be the man who drives him to give her to another man! Spiros breaks the silence: “ime charoumenos pou i Dimitra pantrevetai simera. O Christos ine kalos anthropos. I Dimitra tha ine charoumeni mazi tou”, Dimitra’s father looks at him surprised: “elpizo oti echete dikio, Spyro. Nomiza oti i Dimitra itan charoumeni mazi sou, gia polla’ chronia…”, Spiros looks at him with frank eyes: “den itan charoumeni, kai ine diko mou lathos. Pantreftikame choris na erotevomaste. Dimitra tha ine pio eftychismeni me ton Christo. O Christos tin agapa’ poly’ kai tha sas kanei eftychismeni”, her father nods: “nai i Dimitra ton agapa’ poly’. Afta’ ta dyo ine poly’ erotevmenoi. …”, Spiros smiles sweetly: “to xero…”.

(trnsl: I am happy that Dimitra is getting married today. Christos is a good man. Dimitra is happy with him; I am surprised you’d say that. I thought she was happy with you, Spiro, for many years; she wasn’t happy, and it is my fault. I am sorry. We got married without being in love. Dimitra will be happier with Christos. Christos loves her very much and he will make her happy; yes, Dimitra loves him very much. Those two are very in love; I know…)

  * When they get to the house, Louisa approaches them “kalimera, oraio na se gnoriso, ime Louisa”, Dimitra’s father looks really surprised to find her there. Of course he knows who she is. The woman who has destroyed his daughter’s marriage. The English home wrecker. He makes a half-smile and shakes her hand: “kalimera”, Dimitra smiles behind Louisa, looking very happy: “geia sas patera, Louisa ine mia parakoumbara mou”, her father is _really_ surprised: “den ixera!”, Spiros approaches them, exchanges a kiss with Louisa: “hello love”, then he smiles at his ex-wife: “Dimitra ise poly’ omorfi se afto to forema! O Christos tha charei poly’ na sas pantreftei simera”, Dimitra smiles happily: “efcharisto’ Spyro! Patera, o Spyros ine parakoubaro tou Christou”, her father looks really surprised again, but he says nothing. Spiros turns to Louisa and the other women: “iste etoimoi gynaikes?”, they all smile: “nai, etoimoi!”. He drives the women to church, then he returns to pick Dimitra and her father up. In church, Christos and many guests, including the Durrell children, are all waiting for the bride. Dimitra’s father ‘gives’ her to Christos by the church’s door. Then the bride and the groom slowly walk up to the altar, with a very happy-looking Katherini walking behind them holding her dress. The guests all admire Dimitra’s beautiful dress and their happy smiles.

(transl: good morning, nice to meet you, I am Louisa; good morning; hello father, Louisa is [one of] my bridesmaid; I didn’t know!; Dimitra you look very beautiful in that dress! Christos will be very happy to marry you today; thank you Spiro! Father, Spiro is [one of] Christo’s groomsmen; are you ready ladies? Yes, ready!) 

  * After the ceremony they all convene at a nearby restaurant where they have a nice meal and live music. After eating, the bride and groom open the dances, then the guests all dance Greek traditional dances until late into the night. Spiros, Louisa, and all of the children join the dances and have a good time. People are looking at them with great curiosity. In this society it is not common at all to be at a divorcee’s second wedding and it certainly is not common that the first husband and his new girlfriend would be in attendance and would look so happy. And that Louisa and Spiros would be parakoumbaroi is completely unheard of…
  * At the end of the party Spiros, Louisa, Katherini, and Mihalis, approach the newlyweds, Louisa and Spiros hug Christos and Dimitra: “congratulations again!”, the newlyweds look very happy and in love, “thank you!”, Katherini is happy too: “yes, congratulations mamaka and Christos! This was a very beautiful party!”, Dimitra picks her up and gives her a big kiss: “thank you koukla mou”, then she hugs and kisses Mihalis: “see you in a week moro’ mou!”, “den ime moro’, mama’!” she smiles: “I know…”, Louisa smiles and takes Katherini’s hand: “let’s go home now, children”, Katherini asks: “why are we staying with you for a whole week?”, Louisa smiles: “to allow our newlyweds some private time together”, “so that they can kiss?”, Louisa smiles sweetly: “yes, for that”, Mihalis makes a naughty laugh: “kiss and more… have fun, lovers!”, Dimitra blushes. Spiros looks at him surprised, his child is growing up faster than he realized. He makes a mental note ‘it’s time to have a man-to-man chat with him’, then he smiles: “yes, have fun and enjoy your privacy!”, Christos smirks: “thank you my friend, I appreciate that!”, the two men smile at each other, then Spiros whispers: “I may ask to reciprocate the favor after our wedding”, Dimitra smiles: “yes, of course!”. Spiros, Louisa, Mihalis, and Katherini drive back home, then Spiros returns to pick up the Durrell children.

(trnsl: mamaka = mommy; koukla = doll; mou = my; moro’ = baby; den = not; ime = I am) 

  * The next day the British consul processes the application for Christos’ British citizenship and notifies the Greek authorities of Dimitra’s British citizenship, so that they cancel her Greek citizenship. By the end of the newlyweds’ week of ‘privacy’ Christos’ new passport has arrived. Spiros and Louisa learn it when they drop the children off, Dimitra announces: “all of us have British passports now”, Louisa makes a happy smile: “I am so happy to know that we will all be able to leave together if the British authorities decide to evacuate all citizens”, Spiros smiles too: “yes, we will be able to go to England and start a new life there, away from the worst of the war”, Christos nods: “I wasn’t sure at first, but now I am happy we have this opportunity, thank you for making it possible”, Louisa smiles: “you should thank the consul, really”, Spiros agrees: “we will and we will make sure we keep in touch with him and Soula even in England”, Dimitra smiles: “yes, for sure”, Louisa agrees: “it will be nice to see friends from Corfu’ once we are away from here”, she looks sad now. Spiros notices it, hugs her tenderly, and gives her a loving kiss.

  * Meanwhile, several other letters arrive from England and India, in response to their wedding invitations. It is evening, after dinner. They are all sitting in the living room. Louisa opens a letter, reads it, then makes a big smile: “my niece Glorie says she will be coming, from India!”, Larry is happy: “that is wonderful news, mother”, Spiros gives her a sweet kiss: “I am so happy for you, my love! Who is Glorie?”, Louisa explains: “she is the daughter of my oldest brother John. We got on really well when we were in India and we have remained in close contact over the years. We write to each other very regularly”, she continues reading: “and Dr. Chkravati is going with her!”, she looks at Spiros: “he was a very good friend of our family. Oh, I am so happy he can come too!”, Spiros smiles sweetly: “see? Even if your brothers cannot be here, there will be a good representation of your Indian family and friends!”, he hugs and kisses her.
  * Spiros hands her another letter: “this is from England, love”, Louisa opens it: “the Browns say she can’t come, but her daughter Dorothy will!”, then she turns to Spiros: “when we lived in England the Browns were our very good friends. They are actually the reason for when we decided to leave London we chose Bournemouth. We did not know English cities. The Browns told us they were moving to Bournemouth because it was quieter, warmer, and nicer than London. So, we moved there too. My children and their children spent a lot of time together”, Larry smiles: “excellent news, I like Dorothy”, Louisa looks at him with a smile: “and she liked you, son. I always thought had Nancy not been in your life at that point, maybe you and Dorothy…”, Larry laughs: “mother, when we lived in England you were always trying to pair me up with _all_ of the daughters of your friends, not just Dorothy”, Margot chuckles: “as if he could not find his own female companions!”, Gerry nods: “oh we all know he could do that very, very, well!”, Larry laughs: “what would you know, brother, you were just a child!”, “a child maybe, but not blind. I could see you sneaking all of those girls into your bedroom at night”, Margot chuckles: “and they were always different girls!”, Louisa laughs: “and I had to pretend I did not know!”, Larry laughs: “so you did know, mother!”, Louisa nods: “of course, dear. Like Gerry, I am not blind… and I am not deaf either… you and your girlfriends were not exactly quiet…”. Larry chuckles: “well, there is no need to tell these stories to Dorothy!”. They all laugh.
  * Louisa picks up another letter: “the last one for today”, she reads it: “big granny Dora, aunt Elise, her husband, and their daughters Molly and Phyllis say they cannot come, but they do send their best wishes of a happy marriage”, she turns towards Spiro: “love, Dora is Lawrence’s mother and Elise is his sister. They moved to England from India a few years after us. We have kept in contact, but not very regularly, really”, Margot looks relieved: “phew, I am happy they are not coming. I was not looking forward to their critical comments”, Louisa talks with stern voice: “that’s not a nice thing to say, darling. They are your grandmother, your aunt, and your cousins, after all”, Leslie intercedes: “it may not be nice, but we all know that it is very true that your wedding will be better without them”, Larry agrees: “yes, most of our Durrell relatives have always been very critical of our family. I won’t miss them at all”, Margot sounds upset now: “I never liked how Molly and Phyllis called you ‘aunt Lou’, with very pretense sweet voices, only to then talk behind your back all the time”, Gerry is upset too: “nothing you did seemed to ever please them”, Louisa makes a sad smile: “well, they did have a point. I was a mess at the time…”, Leslie is also quite upset: “and instead of helping, they just criticized you!”, Louisa looks at her children with loving eyes: “I am so sorry children, I do realize I was not always there for you. I did my best, I hope you know that”, then she adds, with very sad voice: “I was really struggling after your father’s death…”, Margot gets up and hugs her mother: “there is nothing you should apologize for, mother. We are old enough to understand how difficult it must have been for you. And we are very happy you are moving on now, with this beautiful love you have found. You deserve it!”, Larry smiles sweetly at her: “and we have turned out all right, haven’t we?”, Louisa is moved: “I am so very proud of how you have turned out… all of you. I love you all”, a few tears spill out of her eyes, now, and slowly stream down her cheeks. Her children all get up and hug her. Spiros is quiet, just watching, smiling sweetly. When the hugs are over, Louisa picks up Elise’s letter again: “well, at least they are not taking a position against the wedding”, Larry smirks: “differently from Prue, Geoffrey, and Basil…”
  * Larry remarks: “I have received a letter from England too. Mother, can you remember my friends George and Pam Wilkinson?”, “of course darling. They were the first people to ever mention Corfu to us”, Larry smiles: “yes, Nancy and I came here because they recommended it highly. They had been on a biking tour of Europe and they had fallen in love with Corfu. Well, they say they will come for the wedding. They love to have an excuse to see Corfu again”, she smiles: “that is lovely, son!”, Spiros makes a big happy smile: “I will have to thank them for sending you here, then. I would have never met the love of my life otherwise”, he turns towards Louisa and looks at her very lovingly: “and I am so happy I have found you!”, he wraps her in his arms and gives her a long loving kiss. She returns it happily.

  * The next day, wedding plans continue. Spiros and Louisa visit the countess. They are having tea as usual. The countess smiles: “Dennis is so excited about your wedding, that he is driving the gardener mad, to make sure the gardens look at their best for your reception”, Louisa smiles: “that is so sweet. We will have to thank him!”. In that moment Dennis walks in with a teapot with freshly made tea, Louisa smiles at him sweetly: “Dennis, I hear we should thank you for your efforts towards the planning of our wedding”, Dennis blushes: “my pleasure, Mrs. Durrell”, Spiros looks amused: “yea, thanks, Dennis, I am sure the gardens will look beautiful and will provide the best backdrop for my nyfi’s beauty”, she smiles at him very sweetly: “and _your_ beauty, my handsome gampro’”, the countess and Dennis smile as the two lovers exchange a soft kiss. Dennis exits the room, leaving the door open, as he usually does when their visits do not involve a medical session.
  * Spiros looks serious now: “countess, we were wondering whether you had considered our offer to go to England with us. It has been a while since we have last talked about it”, the countess makes a sweet smile: “believe me, I have been thinking about it a lot”, he smiles softly: “have you reached a decision?”, Louisa adds: “maybe you’d like to discuss the details...”, the countess sounds unsure: “I am still very undecided. I find the idea of leaving this house really difficult”, Spiros speaks softly: “so do we. We love our house and we love living here”, Louisa smiles sweetly: “but we will leave, for our children’s safety. Please, come with us, countess”. Both the countess and Spiros look at Louisa, surprised at the pleading tone of her voice. She continues: “if we were to leave you behind, I’d constantly worry. And if anything was to happen to you, I don’t know that I’d ever be able to forgive myself for allowing it”, the countess smiles: “it’d be my decision. There would be no reason for you to blame yourself”, “but I would!”. Spiros is watching quietly. The countess’ eye’s fill with tears: “I am very moved by how much care the two of you are demonstrating. I have never felt so loved since my husband…”, tears are rolling down her cheeks now. She uses her handkerchief to dry them. Spiros leans forward and takes her hands in his: “please, go with us. I know the count would want you to be safe”, Louisa nods: “we can leave together. Travel together. Settle together. We could get a large house, with enough rooms for everyone”, she pauses a moment, then she continues with a smile: “or you could settle near us, if you’d rather keep your independence. We can be a rather noisy lot, I do realize that”, they all smile. Louisa continues: “we could buy neighboring houses”, Spiros is still holding the countess’ hands: “you won’t need to worry about anything. We will take care of everything. We will take care of you. _I_ will take care of you. Please go with us!”.
  * The countess sits quietly for a while. Her head leaning against the back of her armchair. Her eyes closed. Then she opens them and looks at her hands in her lap, still in Spiros’. Then she looks up at the two of them. Her eyes going back and forth between Louisa’s and Spiro’s. They are quiet, waiting for her to talk. She finally does, with low and slow voice: “fine, I… I… I… will go with you”, Louisa and Spiros instantly make very happy big smiles. The countess continues with a sweet smile: “you can let go of my hands, Spiro, before Louisa becomes jealous”, he blushes, lets go of the countess’ hands, and sits back up next to Louisa: “sorry…”. Louisa smiles sweetly: “I could never be jealous of you, countess. I love you and I am happy that Spiros feels the same”. They all smile and remain quiet, sipping their teas. Eventually, Spiros remarks: “we should go, love. Let the countess rest. We can talk about the details of this later”.
  * Dennis walks them to the door. As they leave he murmurs: “thank you. I am happy you have convinced her”, Louisa and Spiros look at each other. This is a confession that he was listening in from the room next door. They are not upset. They know Dennis cares about the countess too. Spiros smiles: “you are very welcome to join us too, Dennis”, Louisa nods: “you could continue working for the countess and of course your presence would make it much easier for her to resettle in a foreign country”, Dennis stands quietly. Louisa smiles sweetly: “you don’t need to give us an answer now. Just think about it, Dennis”, he smiles: “I will, thank you for your offer”.

  * The next day, they are all up for breakfast. Spiros is sitting next to Louisa, across from Margot: “Margot, what are your plans for today?”, she looks up from her plate, looking surprised: “well, I am working in the morning…”, “how about the afternoon, are you busy?”, “not really, why are you asking?”, now they are all looking up at Spiros, curious. Spiros sounds very serious: “since I am so happy with your mother I was wondering whether you’d go on a date with me. Two Durrell girls gotta be better than one”. They all stare at him quietly. Stunned. Spiros burst into one of his famous laughs: “I am joking!! Please, please, say that you did not believe that!”, they all laugh. Louisa makes a relieved smile: “you got me worried…”, he looks cross now: “how could you think I truly meant that? _You_ of all people, Louisa, should know I’d never…”, she takes his hand in hers and looks at him sweetly: “I am sorry, love. Of course I know. That is why I was so surprised”. He is still looking upset. She leans towards him and places a kiss on his cheek: “sorry…”. He turns towards her with sweet eyes. They exchange a loving kiss.
  * Margot smiles: “if not for a date, why did you want to know about my plans, Spiro?”, “I was just thinking, since you are 19, you may want to start learning how to drive. I’d be happy to teach you”. They all look really surprised. Margot sounds excited now: “I’d love to, thank you so much Spiro!!!”, Leslie sounds uncertain: “are you sure, Spiro?”, Larry adds, with a smirk: “it may be a dangerous proposition…”, Spiros looks amused now: “more dangerous than the two of you charging around the island chasing girls with my car? Do you think I don’t know that’s what you do when you borrow it?”, they all laugh, Louisa chuckles: “so now you want to balance that with Margot chasing boys?”, Spiros laughs too: “I don’t see why not. We treat men and women equally in this family, don’t we?”, Louisa smiles: “indeed we do”. Spiros turns towards Louisa and looks at her sweetly: “and we do have precedents. I have come to the conclusion that you are one of the best drivers I know, my love”, she smiles at him sweetly and gives him a soft kiss: “did you doubt that?”, he laughs: “well, after that time that you ended up with my car in a meadow, I did have my reservations on your driving skills”. They all laugh, then Spiros turns towards Margot: “so, first driving lesson this afternoon, after lunch?”, Margot makes a happy smile: “sounds good, thank you so much, Spiro!!”

  * After lunch Spiros takes Margot’s hand and makes a silly face: “off on our date, darling?”, Margot chuckles: “sure, dear”. They all laugh and go outside. Spiros opens the passenger’s door and lets Margot in. Then he takes the driver’s seat. Louisa seems surprised: “I thought you were going to let Margot drive”, he laughs: “not with all of you nosey people watching. She’d never be able to relax enough to actually focus on the driving”, then he takes off. He goes to a large open space, next to a farmer’s field, and explains: “this is the break. This is where the gears are, 1, 2, 3, R. This is how to use the clutch. And this is how shifting works”.
  * Then he gets off the car and lets Margot take the driver’s seat. He sits next to her: “why don’t you put in first gear and get the car to move?”. Margot tries and stalls the engine. She looks upset. He smiles sweetly: “don’t worry, Margot. We have all done that the first time. Try again, letting go of the clutch more slowly”. Margot turns on the engine, then tries again. This time she manages to make the car move forward. She is very excited: “yea!!!”, Spiros smiles: “now try putting the clutch down again and shifting to second gear” she does it, lifts her foot off the clutch and the car suddenly jolts forward, launching them both forward in the seat. She lets a small scream out. Spiros expected that and already had his hand on the dashboard to hold himself, “so sorry Spiro!”, he smiles: “no worries. We have all done that too. Now you should give it a little acceleration, then try shifting to third gear, and remember, when you let go of the clutch you need to do that very slowly”, Margot tries and this time the shifting goes a lot more smoothly.
  * They keep practicing for a couple of hours and by the end of it, Margot is doing much better, driving the car around the open area many times. “excellent job, you are a quick learner”, she smiles at him: “thank you so much Spiro. You are a very patient instructor”. She stops the car and hugs him. Then she whispers: “I am so happy you and mother are together. It feels like I have a dad again”. She is moved now, weeping lightly, her head buried in the crook of his neck. He wraps his arms around her and whispers in her ear: “I am honored to be your step-dad, Margot”. He holds her for a while, softly patting and caressing her back until he feels her relax in his arms, then he whispers: “we’d better go home, now. If someone walks by and sees us, the rumors will go rampant. She lifts her head and laughs: “that naughty taxi driver, doing all of the women in the family”, he laughs, blushed: “why don’t you drive back, Margot? Just remember to keep the car on the right side of the road. This is not England…”, she smiles happily: “nor India…”, then she drives them home.
  * When they arrive at the house Louisa is sitting on the veranda. She approaches them: “I see that you have already made good progress, Margot. Good job!”, “yes, mother, Spiro is a very patient instructor”, he gets off the car and approaches Louisa. He wraps her in his arms and gives her a loving kiss: “we had a fantastic date, your daughter and I. Tomorrow you can do the lesson, if you wish”, Margot chuckles: “mother would be way too anxious. Spiro, please, do teach me some more before she is allowed in the car with me driving”. Spiros laughs. Louisa laughs too: “that may be a sensible idea, Margot”. Larry is listening from the veranda: “an excellent idea, if I may state my opinion”. They all laugh and walk back to the house. A happy family.

  * On Friday afternoon Spiros and Louisa are having tea with the countess. They are discussing wedding plans as they always do, lately. The countess has a big happy smile: “everything is coming along nicely, my dears. As the day of your Greek wedding approaches I feel more and more excited”, Louisa smiles: “me too. Even if nothing will truly change, I still have the jitters”, Spiros looks at her half amused and half upset: “what do you mean with nothing will change?”, she smiles at him sweetly: “well, we are already married, aren’t we?”, he seems disappointed: “I thought this was more than a legal proposition for you, Louisa”, she seems surprised: “of course it is more than that!”, he looks sad now: “how so if you think that on March 19th nothing changes for you?!?!”, she looks serious now: “will things change for you?”, he looks at her lovingly: “of course, you will be my wife by Greek rite. We will celebrate our love. Everybody will know”, she looks perplexed: “well, I guess in that regard things will change. The gossipers will run out of fuel…”, he seems upset now: “gossipers? Is this what our Greek wedding means to you, Louisa?”, she looks perplexed now: “I don’t know where this is going, Spiro, what do you want me to say? I love you now, I will love you on March 19th, and I will still love you after that. Nothing will change. Why are you upset? Do you think your feelings for me will change after our Greek wedding?”, he looks at her sweetly now: “of course not! I will love you as much as I have loved you in a long time”, “so why are you upset if I say that nothing will change? It is a good thing, isn’t it?”, he gives her a kiss: “yes, if you put it that way, it is a very good thing, my love”, she looks into his eyes, very lovingly and reaches for his lips for a soft kiss: “then we are good, aren’t we?”, he returns her kiss smiling: “very good”.
  * The countess has been watching, with a soft smile: “if this is what your rows will look like as a married couple, then I am not worried at all about the solidity of your marriage!”, they laugh, then the countess continues: “back to your wedding, which will change your societal status but not your feelings…”, Spiros interrupts with a happy smile: “that’s it, that’s what I meant!”, Louisa smiles too: “and what I meant!”, he smiles at her sweetly: “so we agreed!”. The countess chuckles: “my point exactly, quite the quarrel, my dears…”, they all laugh, Louisa blushes: “gosh don’t I feel silly now?”, the countess is still laughing: “if Florence and Maria were here they’d say it’s time for a smooch”, Louisa and Spiros turn towards each other with sweet smiles and kiss, their arms around each other, then Spiros looks at the countess: “every excuse is good for a smooch”, they all laugh again.
  * Then the countess looks at them both, with serious expression: “so have you thought about my proposition, or are you going to have a ‘row’ over that too?”, Spiros looks at Louisa and lets her do the talking. “We did talk about it and, no, we did not quarrel over it. We quite agreed, actually…”, she pauses and looks at the countess with a sweet smile, then she continues: “well, we think that having you pay for all of our wedding expenses is really more than we feel comfortable with. But we’d be grateful if you covered for part of them. Maybe something specific and meaningful, such as my dress, or the flower decorations”, the countess thinks for a bit: “since the reception will be here, why don’t I pay for it? The food and the music”, Louisa looks at Spiros. They both nod, then they look at the countess, Spiros smiles softly: “that makes sense…”, the countess makes a happy smile: “excellent, that is settled, then. We don’t need to have this conversation again”, Louisa smiles sweetly: “thank you very much, we are very grateful, countess”, the countess smiles: “back to plans, now, have you thought about who will be driving the guests who won’t walk to the church?”, Spiros laughs: “not me! My taxi service will be on holiday on that day”, they all laugh, Louisa smiles: “Leslie has volunteered for that job”, the countess looks happy: “excellent”. They continue sipping their tea and chatting amicably.

  * Meanwhile at home Larry is talking to his siblings, Mihalis and Katherini: “we should plan a gift for our mother and your father’s wedding”, Katherini promptly agrees: “yes we should, I can draw a card and give my favorite teddy bear to them”, Larry smiles at her: “that is a very sweet idea, Katherini. I was thinking, though, if we join our efforts, we could get them a bigger gift. From all of us”, Margot looks intrigued now: “like what?”, Larry smiles: “well, I was thinking of a honeymoon”, he looks at Katherini and Mihalis now: “even if the two of you will be with your mother and Christos, the 4 of us will still be here. Hardly enough privacy for newlyweds”, Leslie remarks: “we could go away too”, Gerry nods: “I was thinking we could stay with Theo, Maria, and Alexia’ for a week”, Larry answers: “yes, that’s an option, but why not get them a holiday? A break form everything”, Margot smiles: “I love the idea, Larry. It is very romantic. I am happy to contribute part of my savings towards it”, Mihalis smiles: “me too, I think it’s a great idea, Larry”, Katherini agrees: “I can give you my piggy bank. It is almost full!”, Larry smiles: “thank you Katherini, I am sure that will help a lot”, Gerry smiles: “me too, I am happy to contribute”, Leslie nods: “me too, and I am sure Theo and Maria won’t complain about the change of plan!”, they all laugh, Larry smirks: “yes, the 4 of us can be quite the addition to a household”, Margot smiles: “which is why I think giving mother and Spiro a holiday away from us all is such a great idea. Well thought, brother!”, Larry smirks: “very well, I will talk to the travel agent next week and see what options are available”. Mihalis turns towards his sister: “meanwhile, we need to keep it a secret”, she makes a funny face: “of course, you don’t need to tell me that, Mihali, I knew it!”, they all smile, Margot smiles: “excellent, we will all keep the secret until the day of their wedding”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The names of all of the relatives and friends should be real. I have found them in Michael Haag's book "the Durrells of Corfu". Even the fact that the Durrell family tended to be critical of Louisa's way of raising her children is mentioned in Haag's book.  
Incidentally, one fact I can't find is the name of Spiros' wife. Dimitra is the name Simon Nye gave her in the TV series and I decided to adopt it (in my initial writing a year ago I had called her Soula, a rather common name in Greece, but I changed it to Dimitra when season 4 aired in Europe this past Spring. I then made the consul's wife Soula instead).  
One fact that is correct is the name of Spiros' son. Mihalis is mentioned in some old interviews and it is not too hard to find a photo of him and Gerald Durrell on line.  
Instead, I have made up Katherini's name (another common name in Greece). I guessed he had a boy and a girl from the photo that Margot holds in season 3 when Louisa and Margot go to Spiros' house to help clean up the mess when his wife is away.  
UPDATE (April 2020): In the end of 2019 someone posted on facebook a photo of the cemetery where Spiros and his family are buried. This person said that Spiros and his children Mihalis and Maria are buried together. If this person is correct, now we know his daughter's name: Maria.


	27. British guests: Prue, Geoffrey and Basil

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prue, Geoffrey, and Basil arrive in Corfu and their disapproval of the wedding is obvious.

  * Sunday, February 12th. All 6 children, Durrell and Halikiopoulos, are out, on a walk together, talking about their ‘secret’ wedding gift. Spiros returns from his usual taxi driver job. Parks the car and goes into the house through the kitchen door: “love? I am back!”, nobody answers. He walks to the living room: “Louisa, where are you?”, no answers. He walks upstairs, on the landing: “love? Are you at home?”, a voice finally answers: “up here!”. He goes up one more flight of stairs and finds Louisa and Lugaretzia busily cleaning two of the guest rooms. He walks up to Louisa. She approaches him: “welcome back, love”. They hug and exchange a loving kiss. Lugaretzia looks unimpressed, as always. She grabs a bucket full of dirty water and walks downstairs muttering: “need clean water. Dirty water makes floors dirty”. Louisa smiles: “she is always so grumpy. I wish she could be happy sometimes”, he laughs: “but she is! Believe it or not, I have never seen her as happy as she is with you”, she seems surprised, “you shouldn’t be so surprised, you make everybody happy”, she smiles at him sweetly: “everybody?”, he looks at her with loving eyes: “well, you make _me_ very happy”, she looks into his eyes, with a loving smile: “and that’s all I really care about”, they hug tightly and exchange a long love kiss. Lugaretzia returns upstairs carrying the bucket with clean water and two sets of clean sheets: “stop kiss. We make beds now”, Spiros laughs: “you sound like an old mother-in-law, Lugaretzia”, Louisa laughs too and gives him another kiss. Lugaretzia shakes her head.
  * Spiros, still holding Louisa in his arms, looks at her quizzically: “what are you doing, anyway?”, “we are preparing the rooms for Basil, Prue, and Geoffrey. I have received a telegram that their train has already arrived in Brindisi. They will take the ferry later tonight and they will get to Corfu Town tomorrow morning”, Spiros looks surprised: “oh, I was planning on finishing that new cabinet tomorrow morning, love. I still need to apply the second coat of paint”, “I know, so I have asked Larry. He has agreed to pick them up with the car”, Lugaretzia is confused: “why arrive now? Your wedding is next month”, Louisa makes a sad smile: “they are coming early to dissuade me from marrying Spiro”, Lugaretzia looks surprised: “this is your family?”, she laughs, a sad laugh: “I am afraid so”. Spiros wraps her in his arms and kisses her again: “aren’t you being too pessimistic, love? Maybe they just want to spend some time with you and get to know me better ahead of our wedding”, “I wish you were correct, love, but I doubt that”, he gives her another kiss: “but you don’t really know. Let’s think positive, love. They are not even here yet”, she smiles sweetly: “well, we will learn their intentions soon enough, I guess”, Lugaretzia grumbles: “if they don’t like Mr. Halikiopoulos maybe they kill gampro’. Instead of wedding we have funeral”, Spiros laughs: “maybe, Lugaretzia”, then he grabs a set of sheets from her arms: “let me help you with those beds, while I am still alive”, he walks into a room and starts making the bed. Lugaretzia follows him: “you do all wrong. I do”, she pushes him away. He laughs and leaves: “I will prepare things for tea, then. No afternoon tea, no happy English nyfi. So much I have learned these past several months”

(trnsl: gampros = groom; nyfi = bride)

  * Monday morning. Larry picks the cousins up at the docks. As they drive back, Prue asks: “how come you are driving Spiro’s car, Larry?”, “I am doing it a fair bit, lately. Spiro has been living with us for more than 8 months now. Mother, Leslie, and I often drive his car and he has recently started teaching Margot”. Then he stops the car at the side of the road: “before we get to the house there is something very important you need to know” He tells them about Hugh’s assault and mother’s PTS. Then he briefly explains what PTS is and the desensitization therapy Louisa has been following. “She has improved a lot. She no longer has spontaneous panic attacks or nightmares, but we still need to be careful to avoid triggered attacks”. Then he turns towards Geoffrey and Basil, who are sitting on the back seat: “I especially recommend the two of you should never touch mother without her being fully aware of it. Unexpected contacts from men, especially from behind, are still triggers. Only Spiros, me, Leslie, and a few male friends can do that, because we have followed the desensitization procedure. Other men can still trigger panic attacks”, then he looks at Prue: “women don’t so you should be fine, but you should still approach her carefully at first, until we know for sure you are not a trigger”.
  * Despite the warnings, (or maybe intentionally, to test the story?), that afternoon Basil triggers an attack. They are all having tea on the Veranda on this mild winter day. As they chat with her cousins, Louisa and Spiros are sitting next to each other. He has his arm around her shoulders. She holds his hand with hers. At some point Spiros gets up: “I will be in the kitchen, preparing for tonight’s Greek dinner”, Louisa looks puzzled: “so early, love? We are still having tea”, “I just wanted to fry sliced eggplants so that they are ready to make a moussaka later”, “oh, I can help you then”, “don’t worry love, I can take care of that. You should stay here and enjoy your visitors”. He leans towards her and reaches for her lips. They kiss, then he goes inside. Louisa gets up to look at the scenery from the sea wall: “I am happy you came, cousins. Take a look at this beauty. You will know why I want to be here forever”. Basil gets up and walks near her: “my dear cousin, let’s talk about this marriage of yours”, suddenly, he hugs Louisa’s shoulders from behind.
  * Louisa has a full-blown attack. One of the worst she has had in a long time. With her eyes closed, she screams very loudly: “no! no! no! Hugh, no! Stop Hugh! Stop! Help!”. Gerry runs into the house to call Spiros. Larry and Margot get up: “mom, mom, listen to us, listen to our voices, we are your children. You are safe with us. We are here. We love you”. It is all to no avail. Despite their efforts, Louisa’s children cannot manage to interrupt the flashback. She keeps screaming with terrified voice: “stop it, stop it Hugh, stop, no, no, no!”. Prue, Geoffrey, and Basil look stunned.
  * Spiros arrives running, then speaks to her very sweetly: “Louisa, my love, I am Spiro, listen to me, listen to my voice, can you hear me? I am here with you”, the attack is really bad, like they used to be in the beginning, “can you hear my voice? I am Spiro, I am here with you, my love. You are safe with me”. Finally, Spiros’ voice breaks through her flashback. Louisa stops screaming, her eyes still closed, “Louisa, my love, open your eyes, look at me”, she slowly opens her eyes, still in a daze, “can you see me love? Who do you see?”, she makes a faint smile: “Spiro…”, he smiles at her very sweetly: “yes, and who is Spiro?”, she smiles at him sweetly, through her tears: “my love”, “yes, it’s me, I am here with you. You are safe”, he opens his arms, she rushes into them. He hugs her as she cries in his embrace. The attack is over. The children look relieved. Spiros takes Louisa to sit on the bench at the back of the garden. They can all see them: Spiros lovingly hugging Louisa. Louisa crying in his arms. Spiros softly speaking to her, caressing and kissing her hair. As she slowly calms down, she lifts her head up and they kiss. Many times. 

  * Larry looks at their British relatives: “we know that you came here to stop their wedding. We know this is why you came so quickly when you received your wedding invitation. Well, look at them, do you still think you want to separate those two? Do you really want to prevent them from being husband and wife? They are made for each other. We know it. We have lived with them for serval months. They are truly in love. Mother has not been this happy since father died almost 11 years ago. The four of us are very supportive of their marriage”. The siblings all nod. Larry continues: “the way things look from a distance can be very different on site. The man who looks good on paper turns out to be a violent rapist. The man who (to you) may not look as good on paper, is her true love. The one with whom she can be happy for the rest of her life”. Prue, Geoffrey, and Basil look at each other for a while, then they nod. Prue speaks for all: “you are correct Larry, we did not like this marriage, and we thought we could prevent it, but we now see why it should happen. As her close family, we now agree to give them our blessing”. The Durrell siblings nod and smile, but they have a strong feeling of unease. That did not sound sincere at all…

  * That evening they all enjoy the Greek supper that Louisa and Spiros prepare together, then they all sit down in the living room. Louisa and Spiros sit on one sofa, holding hands. Their fingers interlaced. They have small talk for a while, then Spiros speaks sweetly: “you look tired Louisa, are you well?”, “yes, love, I am well, but I do feel tired”, he looks at her with sweet eyes: “it must be the attack you had earlier. Let’s go to bed early so that you can rest”, Louisa smiles at him sweetly then she turns towards the others: “yes, good night everyone”. They go upstairs and retire to Louisa’s bedroom. Prue looks surprised: “oh, they sleep together…”, Larry smirks: “I’ve told you he has been living with us for many months”, Margot smiles: “and we are happy with that”, Geoffrey speaks with stern voice: “living with you and sleeping together are not the same thing. This is very inappropriate”, Prue sounds upset and very critical now: “what kind of example does that set for you, children?”, Larry smiles: “a wonderful example of what true love looks like”, Leslie nods: “there is nothing inappropriate with that”, Prue is quite upset now: “there is, plenty, and that you children would not see this whole situation as inappropriate is clear indication of how inappropriate your mother’s example is being. Living on this island has really corrupted her and you all”, Larry tries to keep calm to diffuse the situation: “we obviously disagree. How is that inappropriate? Mother and Spiro are a loving couple. Sleeping together is just part of what loving couples do. Mother is happy with Spiro and we are happy for her”, Gerry agrees: “yes, we are”, Margot smiles sweetly: “their love is deep and beautiful. We are all very happy for them”. Basil sits quietly. He doesn’t really disagree with the children, in principle. Geoffrey and Prue instead, look at each other with very disapproving facial expressions, but they don’t say anything more. 

  * Meanwhile Louisa and Spiros wear their pajamas and go to bed. They lay on their sides, facing each other. He hugs her and reaches for her lips. He kisses her softly: “good night my love. Have sweet dreams”, she smiles sweetly: “thank you, my love” then she kisses him tenderly: “I love you, Spiro”, “and I love you”. She leans her head in the crook of his neck. He hugs her and holds her close to his warm body. They fall asleep. The next morning they wake up early. They cuddle for a while, very lovingly: “this is so lovely, Spiro. I wish my cousins were not so critical of us”, “oh, I don’t think they are. They can see we are in love”, “you are always so sweet, my love, but I know my family. I can read into those fake smiles. They disapprove of us”, “we will just have to change their mind, then. We do have time between now and our wedding, my love”, “I find it hard to share your positive outlook, my love. Prue’s face when we came to our bedroom last night was very telling”, he smiles: “yes, and Geoffrey’s too, but I think that was more about us sleeping together outside of wedlock than their approval of us as a couple”, she smiles sweetly: “yes, they are very conservative. I am sure they think we are awful sinners”, he makes a naughty smile: “well, we are, and proudly so!”, he puts his hands under her pajamas and touches her body, gently massaging her naked breasts: “mmmm I so love being sinful with you”. She smiles sweetly, then she gives him a long sensual kiss, her hands caressing this chest, under his pajamas: “so do I”. They keep touching and stimulating each other, until they make love. Perfect, as always. Then they lay on their bed, their naked bodies hugging each other, she kisses him: “that did not feel sinful at all”, he smiles: “it felt very good!”, she laughs softly: “yes, and very loving”, “always! Because our love is so deep”, she reaches for his lips. They kiss again: “I am so in love with you, Spiro, that sometimes I am afraid my heart will burst with happiness”, he hugs her closely: “and I am very happy and very, very, in love with you, Louisa”, they kiss and remain in bed, cuddling lovingly for several more minutes.
  * Eventually they get up, wash, dress, and go downstairs. The children and her cousins are all up, sitting around the kitchen table. Margot smiles: “good morning, we have prepared breakfast”, Larry adds: “eggs, sausages, and vegetables”, Spiros smiles: “that sounds excellent, thanks for making breakfast”. Him and Louisa fill their plates and join the others. They eat with good appetite. Then Spiros smiles: “time for me to go to work. There are several ferries arriving today, from Igoumenitsa, Patras, Brindisi, and Ancona. Does anybody need a lift?”, Margot replies: “not me, thanks. I am not working today, I took the day off”, Leslie nods: “so did I”, Gerry smiles: “and I am not going for my classes”, Louisa looks at him sternly: “only because our cousins have just arrived, son. Don’t get used to the idea. As of tomorrow you go back to Mr. Kralefsky”, Gerry rolls his eyes: “yes, mother, yes, I know that”. They all laugh. Spiros smiles: “then I will see you all later”, Louisa looks at him sweetly: “sounds good. Will you bring the children here today?”, “yes, for lunch, then they will stay for the afternoon”, “very good, then I will make their favorite. Scotch eggs and shepherd’s pies”, Spiros gives her a soft kiss: “that sounds very good. Thank you, love”, then he gets up, and goes to their bedroom to get ready. After a few minutes he returns downstairs. Louisa gets up and walks him to the door. They hug and kiss lovingly, “see you later, my love”, “enjoy your visitors, love”. Spiros leaves. Geoffrey and Prue are watching, looking disapproving of all of those romantic exchanges.

  * Prue looks confused: “children?”, Larry explains: “Spiros’ children. They both like mother’s British and Indian cuisines”, Margot smiles: “and mother spoils them more than she has ever spoiled us!”, Gerry chuckles: “but we do benefit from that. The cooking has been great”, Leslie nods: “especially when mother and Spiros cook together. The Greek-British-Indian results are always excellent”, Louisa sits back at the table and smiles: “I didn’t realize you were so jealous of Spiros’ children”, Gerry protests: “we are joking, mother, we are not jealous”, Larry agrees: “not at all. We actually like them”, Margot smiles: “they are very sweet”, Geoffrey intervenes: “does Spiros have illegitimate children?”, Louisa looks puzzled: “illegitimate?”, Basil explains: "well, if he was married he would not be able to marry you. I am pretty sure bigamy is not allowed in Greece”, Larry chuckles: “and I am pretty sure mother would not appreciate that idea either!”, Louisa smiles: “not at all!”, then she turns to her cousins: “Spiro and his ex-wife are divorced”, Prue looks horrified: “divorced? That is very immoral!”, Basil looks perplexed: “are you sure, Louisa? Divorce is not allowed in Greece”, Larry explains: “it is in some cases and Spiro and Dimitra have obtained their divorce last year”, Geoffrey inquires: “Dimitra?”, Larry clarifies: “Spiro’s ex-wife”, Gerry adds: “a nice lady”, Prue looks surprised: “do you know her?”, Leslie nods: “yes, of course, her and Christos come here very often”, Louisa adds: “and we visit them at their house”, Geoffrey seems confused again: “Christos?”, Louisa smiles: “Dimitra’s newlywed husband. Their wedding was 8 days ago”. The cousins look really confused now, Prue comments: “so Spiro’s ex-wife is remarried, Spiro still sees her, and you are fine with that?”, Louisa answers: “I am not sure what you are implying, cousin. They are still friends. And so am I. We were both their parakoumbaroi at their wedding”, Basil is puzzled: “para-what?”, Larry laughs: “parakoumabaroi, it’s similar to a wedding party in our system. The bride has one main koumbara and several parakoumbares”, Gerry completes the explanation: “and the groom has one koumbaros and several parakoumbaroi”, Margot adds: “even mother and Spiro will have several parakoumbaroi for their wedding, including Christos and Dimitra”.
  * Geoffrey looks at Louisa, very serious now: “cousin, we really need to talk about all of this. I am happy that you’d feel like remarrying after so many years alone…” Prue continues: “…but with a divorced man?”, Louisa replies calmly: “well, being divorced is what allows him to remarry, isn’t it?”, Geoffrey speaks with stern voice: “nobody in our family has ever got a divorce, let alone marry a divorced person!”, Louisa tries really hard to keep calm: “divorce is recognized by our Anglican church!”, Prue answers: “that does not make it any less sinful, cousin”, Louisa’s voice is stern now: “well, we clearly disagree here.”, Prue asks: “how about Hugh Jarvis? He wanted to marry you, didn’t he?”, Louisa looks very surprised at first, then she replies with angry voice: “I refused his proposal!”, Geoffrey asks: “why? He is a wealthy man. He could give you and your children all you need, for as long as you live”, Prue continues: “and he loves you”, Louisa answers with shaky voice: “but I don’t love him”, Prue smiles: “that’s easy to change, after you are married”, Louisa is really upset now: “I could never love Hugh!”. Seeing that his mother is becoming so distressed, Larry intervenes: “how can you even think that? I have told you what he has done to her”, Margot sounds upset too: “and you have witnessed the consequences!”, Louisa adds with teary and shaky voice: “how can you wish me to marry the man who has assaulted me?”, Prue speaks calmly, sounding as if she is trying to calm a little girl who is throwing a tantrum: “had you accepted his proposal he would not have assaulted you”, Louisa is crying now: “I can’t believe you’d say that. He is a violent man. Why would you want me to have anything to do with him, let alone marry him?”, Margot hugs her mother who is sobbing now, the wound she has been working so hard to heal, cut open again by her relatives. Leslie is upset too now: “not quite what you should wish your own cousin!”.
  * Larry has been listening quietly. He speaks calmly, hoping to bring some sense into that conversation: “Spiro is a wonderful partner for mother. Supportive, loving, and respectful. He loves her and she loves him. Why can’t you just be happy for them?”, Gerry is looking at his mother sobbing in Margot’s embrace and is very angry now. The tone of his voice betrays that. He can’t hide it and almost shouts: “the way we all are”, Geoffrey speaks calmly: “it seems we are all getting too worked up here. We should talk about this later, Louisa, after we have all calmed down”, Prue adds: “and privately…”, Louisa looks at her cousins, her eyes still teary, then she talks with upset voice: “I don’t see the need. I have no secrets with my children and I’d actually rather Spiro be here too, if we are to talk about him!”. She gets up and begins clearing the table. Then she turns towards her cousins and speaks with firm voice: “Spiro and I will be married on March 19th. It is entirely up to you whether or not you want to join our celebrations. You are very welcome to stay until that day, but I won’t have this conversation again. My decision is long taken”. The children are all quiet now. They get up too, and help her clear the table. The cousins get up and go outside.

  * For most of the morning they all hang around the house and don’t say much. They have a few courtesy exchanges, but the atmosphere is rather tense. Louisa busies herself with house chores, but she is still clearly upset, shaking lightly and periodically stopping to wipe tears. Her children help her with the chores and try to be supportive. They are all really upset with her cousins. At some point the cousins go for a brief walk along the path behind the back garden. As soon as they are gone Margot approaches her mother. She doesn’t talk, she just hugs her again. Louisa hugs her back and leans her head on her daughter’s shoulder: “thank you, baby”, Margot talks to her sweetly: “mother, I can’t stand they would have done this to you. I want them out of our house. When they return from their walk I will talk to them privately. I will be polite but I will be firm”, Louisa lifts her head: “thank you for caring so much, Margot, but we can’t just kick them out. They are my family”, “they hardly seem to care about you, mother! How could they just bring your trauma back so carelessly? I am so angry!”, “maybe there is an explanation. Maybe they do not understand how difficult things have been for me. They were not here during the worst of it, after all, and I intentionally did not tell them about it, so that they wouldn’t worry”, Margo replies angrily: “worry? They clearly don’t care!”, Louisa pleas with soft voice: “please, calm down, Margot, let me handle them…”, in that moment, the cousins return and sit on the veranda, pretending all is well.
  * Margot goes inside the house and joins Larry and Leslie who are sitting in the living room. They talk about the morning’s events, Leslie is still fuming: “I couldn’t believe my ears… marry Hugh?”, Margot is quite angry too: “I am still furious. Mother is still so upset!”, Larry agrees: “of course she would be!”, Margot is really angry: “bloody hell, they brought her trauma right back! She has been crying all morning!”, they all shake their heads, Larry adds: “and we have not heard the end of it, I am afraid”, Margot looks at her brothers: “we need to be close to mother. This is not going to be easy for her”, Larry nods: “we must help her face them”, Leslie speaks angrily: “we should kick them out of our house!”, Larry sighs: “I wish we could do just that”, Margot replies: “I’ve tried to convince mother to let me do that, but she doesn’t want to. She thinks they were in good faith”, Larry scoffs: “I don’t believe that for a moment!”, Margot nods: “neither do I, but I don’t want to go behind mother’s back. Instead, we need to make sure we don’t leave her alone with them”, Leslie adds: “and protect her from those harpies.”, Larry agrees: “we will take turns to make sure at least one of us is with her when Spiro is not here. We need a plan and we should include Gerry too. We can fill him in later”, they continue talking until they have a plan. Margot summarizes their plan: “so, Larry will be around in the morning and the rest of us will take turns in the afternoons and evenings”, Larry nods: “we should also talk to Spiro so that he is aware of our plan. He will do his best to support mother”, Margot smiles sweetly: “yes he will”.
  * Towards the end of the morning, Louisa is sitting on the bench of the veranda, sewing some old socks. She is feeling better, but her hands are still shaking slightly. And she looks sad. Gerry is sitting near her, holding his turtle, trying to cheer her up. He is using his turtle like a puppet, making it say funny things with a silly voice: “Mrs. nyfi, please meet Mr. Achilles vom Turty. Am I invited to your wedding? Can I bring my reptilian family? We’d look smashing, all dressed up in our polished Sunday shells”. Louisa laughs sweetly. She knows why her son is doing that and she is very grateful he’d care so much and he’d express his care his own very Gerry way. She looks at her watch and announces: “it’s time to prepare lunch”, Gerry gets up: “I can help, mother”, she hugs him and whispers in his ear: “thank you, baby, for everything…”, “I am not a baby!”, she smiles and walks into the kitchen” I know, I know… moro’ mou”. Gerry follows her: “kai den ime moro’, mitera!”, Louisa laughs: “to xero, to xero, agori mou!”. Prue follows them to the kitchen: “what language were you speaking? It wasn’t Hindi.”, Gerry explains: “that was Greek, Prue”, “oh I did not realize you used it to talk amongst yourself”, Louisa nods: “we normally don’t”, Gerry smiles: “but we have been using more and more Greek words in our conversations, now that Spiro lives with us”, Louisa says nothing, but she makes a very sweet smile, at the thought of Spiros. Prue notices that. She says nothing too.

(trnsl: nyfi = bride; moro’ = baby; mou = my; kai = and; den ime = I am not; mitera = mother; to xero = I know; agori = boy)

  * Prue decides to change the topic of the conversation: “I’d like to watch you make lunch so that I can learn the recipes”, Louisa makes a tight smile: “of course, cousin!”. The atmosphere is still rather tense, the upset caused by their morning conversation still lingering. Louisa makes Scotch eggs and meat pies while Gerry roasts eggplants and peppers to make melitzanosalada and tirokafteri. Prue is watching, sitting at the table, she makes small talk: “are those Greek dishes, Gerry?”, “yes, Prue. Spiro has taught them to us. They are very tasty dips”, “then I am looking forward to trying them”, that was nice, but it sounded very fake. Gerry is squeezing the juice of a lemon into the melitzanosalada. He looks at Prue and makes a fake smile too: “I’d be happy to write down the recipes for you. They are very easy”. Then he slices a loaf of bread while Louisa makes a mixed salad with cucumber, tomatoes, onions, olives, feta cheese, and olive oil. Prue comments: “everything looks very delicious Louisa”, “thank you, cousin”, “you were always a very good cook. I remember Lawrence loved your cooking too”, Louisa smiles: “he did, especially the Indian food”, Gerry adds: “well, we all still love that!”, Louisa hugs him: “I know you do, darling. We will make an Indian meal soon, I promise”, Gerry makes a big smile: “including my favorite?”, Louisa smiles back at him: “of course, I will make sure I make lots of chicken curry, so that you can have your usual double serving”, Gerry laughs and kisses her cheek: “efcharisto’ poly’, mitera”, “parakalo’, agori mou”.

(trnsl: efcharisto’ = thank you; poly’ = very, much; parakalo’ = you are welcome; mitera = mother; agori mou = my boy)

  * In that moment, there is the sound of a horn. Louisa makes a big happy smile, wipes her hands in her apron, and runs outside. Spiro’s car is parked at the side of the house, near Gerry’s donkey enclosure. Spiros and his children get off the car. Louisa walks there and greets the children, giving a big kiss each. Then she and Spiros hug and exchange a long love kiss. Then she holds onto him with a tight hug, her head leaning in the crook of his neck. She needs the comfort after the tense morning. Spiros senses that and hugs her tightly, holding her close to his body. He kisses her hair then he speaks softly into her ear: “hello, my love, I’ve missed you!”. Gerry approaches too: “yassas pedia’!”, Mihalis and Katherini reply smiling: “yassou Gerry!”, Gerry can easily guess that his mother wants to talk to Spiros: “while our lovebirds greet each other, come and meet mother’s cousins”. Gerry and the children walk back to the house.

(trnsl: pedia’ = children; yassas = hello, plural/formal form; yassou = hello, singular/informal form)

  * Louisa holds Spiros back, she hugs and kisses him again. Holding her in his loving embrace, he looks at her with sweet eyes: “what’s wrong, my love? Why so upset?”, she frowns: “the hostilities have begun…”, he gives her a soft kiss, then guesses: “they’ve tried to convince you to not marry me, haven’t they?”, he looks sad now, as she answers with teary voice: “yes, and they think I should have accepted Hugh’s proposal instead”, he looks upset now: “even knowing what he has done to you?”, she is upset too: “that’s the worst part!”, she embraces him tightly and leans her head in the crook of his neck. Then she looks up, into his eyes: “...but they may not realize how difficult things have been for me, maybe they don’t really know…”. Her voice is shaky. She doesn’t truly believe what she is saying. She just finds it hard to accept her relatives’ position could be so harmful and seemingly careless. He looks into her eyes, very, very, lovingly: “let me talk to them. I can explain how happy we are together and how much I love you”, she smiles at him very sweetly: “and I love you”, they kiss tenderly, then she continues: “there is no point. I don’t think they will ever change their mind”, he kisses her again, very lovingly: “I am so sorry, my love”, she smiles sweetly at him: “well, this is not a surprise, really. I knew it. The problem is theirs now. They either accept my decision and celebrate our wedding with us, or they go back to England. Frankly, I don’t care what they do or think”. Tears are falling from her eyes now. She obviously does care and she is rather upset. She leans her head on his shoulder, crying softly in his neck. He caresses and kisses her hair as he hugs her tightly: “I am really, really, sorry, my love. I wish there was something I could do to make this easier for you”, she lifts her head and looks at him with loving eyes: “there is!”, he looks at her fondly: “what is it, love? Tell me. I’d do anything”, she smiles at him sweetly: “just be yourself, and keep holding me in your arms. Nothing makes me happier”, he smiles at her very, very, sweetly, wrapping his arms around her. They kiss again. A long love kiss.
  * Meanwhile, Gerry and the children reach the cousins who are now all sitting at the table of the veranda: “these are Katherini and Mihali, Spiro’s children”, then he turns towards the children: “and this is mother’s cousins Prue, her husband Geoffrey, and their son Basil. They arrived from England yesterday”, Prue makes a very fake smile: “n i c e . to m e e t . you c h i l d r e n”, Gerry looks puzzled: “why are you talking like that?”, Prue answers condescendingly: “to make it easier for them to understand me”, Gerry smirks: “but they are both very fluent in English!”, Katherini is looking at her shyly. Mihalis looks annoyed, more than shy. Neither says a word. Prue looks towards Spiros and Louisa who are still by his car, talking, hugging, and kissing: “I wish they stopped that nonsense and came here to help with this communication”, Gerry looks back towards his mother and Spiros. He knows she is updating him on their earlier conversation with her cousins. And he knows she is very upset about it. He is also still rather angry, so he replies sharply: “there is no need. I’ve told you they understand and speak English very well”, then he realizes his tone was very rude: “I am sorry, I did not mean to be impolite…”, Katherini finally speaks: “Gerry do you and your visitors always fight like this?”, Mihalis nudges her, Gerry smiles: “no, Katherini, only when I am in a bad mood”, she looks at him, puzzled: “why are you so upset, Gerry? I can give you a hug, if you wish. My bampaka always hugs me when I am upset and that makes me feel much better”, Gerry smiles, kneels, and hugs her, she hugs him back, “thank you Katherini, that always helps”. Then she looks towards her father and Louisa who are still hugging and kissing: “and why did cousin Prue say that bampaka and Louisa should stop the nonsense? They always kiss like that. They love each other. That’s why my bampaka has asked her to marry him”, Gerry smiles at her sweetly: “yes, and she has happily accepted”, then he turns towards the cousins with a smirk: “the wisdom of innocence…”, Prue makes another very fake smile at Katherini: “yes, darling, we know that”, Katherini looks at her, then with very proud voice she says the grownup word she learned on the day her father proposed to Louisa: “she is _consenting_”, Gerry grins: “indeed!”.
  * In that moment Larry, Leslie, and Margot approach, Larry smiles: “we did not hear you coming, children, did your bampa’ not use his horn?”, Mihalis laughs: “of course he did. He always does!”, Margot smiles: “then we must have been very distracted if we did not hear it”, Leslie explains: “yes, we were in the living room, talking”, Katherini replies: “oh, you must have been talking about very important things then”, Leslie smirks: “maybe…”. Margot smiles: “now that you are here, we can have our lunch, guess what mother and Gerry have prepared?”, she is smiling directly at Mihalis. He makes a big happy smile, then asks with hopeful voice: “Scotch eggs?”, Margot nods: “and shepherd’s pie”, Mihalis makes a really happy smile now: “both of my favorite foods, yes!!!”, he turns towards Louisa and Spiros who are walking towards them now: “thank you so much, Louisa, you are the best!!”, she smiles at him: “not sure what this was all about, but I take _the best_ any time. Thank you, Mihali”, Spiros hugs her and kisses her softly: “of course, I will always agree with that, son!”, Mihalis laughs: “oh, I know that, bampa’, but I was actually talking about food, not how in love with Louisa you are”, the children all laugh, Louisa and Spiros both blush. He hugs his son and ruffles his hair with his hand. Then he takes Katherini’s hand: “I don’t know about you, but I have worked up an appetite”, Louisa smiles sweetly at him: “that’s easy to fix, love, lunch is ready!”, they all walk into the house and sit around the kitchen table. Louisa and Spiros serve the food, then they also sit down and eat, as a happy family.
  * During lunch, Geoffrey begins the conversation: “so, you children come here very often, don’t you?”, Katherini nods: “yes, since our bampaka has moved here”, Prue makes a fake tight smile: “and do you like it here?”, Katherini replies: “yes!”, Prue continues: “and do you like our cousin Louisa?”, Katherini answers enthusiastically: “very much!”, Mihalis senses there is something very fake in this conversation so he replies a bit on the defense: “of course we do. She is very nice, why are you asking, don’t _you_ like her?”, Spiros looks at him with stern eyes and scolds him with serious voice: “don’t be rude, son. Of course they like her. She is their cousin!”, Mihalis sounds contrite now: “sorry bampa’…”, Louisa smiles: “would you like another Scotch egg, Mihali?”, he smiles: “yes please!”, she puts one in his plate. Katherini continues, her usual chatty self: “Louisa, did your cousins come here all the way from England for the wedding?”, Louisa gives a stern look at her cousins: “yes, of course, darling, they came to celebrate with us”, Mihalis is still sounding suspicious: “why so early? The wedding is not for another 5 weeks”, Geoffrey makes a fake smile: “we wanted to spend some time with our cousin before the wedding”, Katherini smiles: “excellent! You can help prepare for it! It will be the best party, ever!”, Louisa smiles at her sweetly: “yes, darling, it will be lots of fun, like your mom’s and Christo’s wedding”, Spiros smiles too: “everyone will celebrate our happiness with us”, he puts his arm around Louisa’s shoulders and gently pulls her towards him. She turns towards him and smiles at him sweetly. They kiss. Geoffrey rolls his eyes. Katherini notices that: “they always do that. You will get used to it, cousin Geoffrey. It is not a bad thing, you know?”, Larry laughs: “indeed, it is a very good thing!”. Meanwhile Louisa and Spiros have stopped kissing and are listening. Katherini looks at them, then she turns towards Geoffrey again: “my bampaka says love is the best thing in life and one day I will meet someone who loves me as much as he loves Louisa”, Spiros looks at her sweetly: “yes koukla mou, one day you will”, she looks at her dad: “when? Soon?’, he laughs: “hopefully not too soon!”, “why not, if it is the best thing…”, “it _is_ the best thing, koukla, but it is for grownups”, “how old? As old as you and Louisa?”, Louisa laughs: “hopefully sooner than that, darling”, “oh, maybe when I am 10, then?”, Spiros smiles sweetly again: “not 10, that’s too soon, koukla. Maybe 20”, Louisa laughs. Margot steps in: “oh, then I am due for it, I will be 20 next year!”, Katherini smiles happily: “that is fantastic Margot. Let me know when you meet him!”, she smiles at her: “you will be the first I tell, Katherini”, Louisa makes a pretend frown: “even before me?!?!?” they all laugh.

(trnsl: bampaka = daddy; bampa’ = dad; koukla = doll; mou = my)


	28. Dealing with family disapproval

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The family comes together to deal with Prue's, Geoffrey's, and Basil's disapproval of Spiros and Louisa's marriage. Various ideas are implemented.

  * The next morning Spiros wakes up early and lays quietly to avoid waking Louisa. She is snuggled against his body, a position she likes, especially when she is upset about something and she seeks comfort. He slowly wraps his arms around her and softly kisses her hair. She gently stirs and opens her eyes. She looks up towards him and speaks with groggy sleepy voice: “good morning, my love”, he reaches for her lips and gives her a tender kiss: “good morning, love, I hope you had a good night and are feeling better today”, she smiles at him tenderly: “for as long as I am in your arms I feel marvelous. I can’t promise I will still feel like this once I see my relatives again”, he smiles at her sweetly: “then, let’s stay here a little longer”, she happily cuddles into his arms. While holding her, he speaks softly: “love… I still think that if we demonstrate to your relatives how happy we are, they will understand why you and me are meant to be together”, she smiles sweetly and teases him: “are you saying you want to call them into our bedroom right now?”, he laughs: “maybe not that, but I am happy to keep kissing and hugging you in front of them until their hearts drown in our love”, she smiles at him sweetly: “you are such a romantic, Spiro! I so wish it were that simple…”, he kisses her, then he continues: “seriously, we can easily continue showing our happiness in our daily life. We just need to be ourselves”, she smiles sweetly: “yes, that’s easy”, he kisses her softly again: “because we _are_ so happy”, she kisses him back: “we are!”, “but I was also thinking, we may organize a little tea party, with our close friends, especially the mixed Greek-English couples, to show your cousins how happy they are after years that they have been married. Your relatives may come to see that even our union can be as happy”, she looks into his eyes: “that is actually not a bad idea, love! If anything, it will give us a break from those 3 and moral support from our good friends”, he smiles at her sweetly: “let’s do it then!”, then they exchange a long, loving kiss and cuddle in bed a little longer.
  * Eventually, they go downstairs and Louisa makes breakfast for everyone. The children and her cousins join them shortly. After the good breakfast together, Margot gets up: “Spiro, are you driving to town this morning? I could use a lift”, Leslie jumps in: “me too”, Gerry nods: “me too”, Spiros looks at them like a loving benevolent dad, then he smiles: “happy to begin the Halikiopoulos taxi service in 15 minutes”, the children laugh, then they all get up and rush to the bathroom to get ready. Spiros turns towards the cousins: “I am more than happy to give you a lift too, if you wish. Corfu town is rather pretty, perfect for strolling around and having coffee in the main square”, Prue smiles: “that is nice of you to offer, Spiro, but I won’t be ready in 15 minutes”, “that is not a problem, I can come back here after I drop the children off. Today there is only one ferry, and I don’t really need to get to the docks until later”, Geoffrey nods: “well, let’s get ready, then”, Prue, Geoffrey, and Basil get up and go to their bedrooms. Spiros turns towards Louisa: “see? They will warm up to us as they see the happy couple we are”, she smiles sweetly: “I so wish you were right, Spiro”, Larry smirks: “so do I, but I would not hold my breath on that, Spiro”, then he gets up and goes to his bedroom.
  * Louisa gets up too and begins clearing the table of the dirty plates. Spiros helps. Then he walks up to her from behind, wraps his arms around her waist, and places a loving kiss on her neck: “I hope you have a better day today, my love”. She turns around to face him and smiles at him very sweetly: “thanks for taking them away from the house, love. That was a very thoughtful and caring idea”, he smiles sweetly: “as always, you have read my mind, eh?”, she laughs softly: “you can’t hide from me, my love”, he looks at her lovingly: “hiding from you is the last thing I wish to do, my beloved nyfi*”. They hug each other and exchange many loving kisses. After several minutes, Margot, Gerry, and Leslie enter the room, ready to go. They see them kissing, smile at each other, and quietly tiptoe outside. Then they patiently wait on the veranda, watching the two lovers through the kitchen window. Eventually, they stop kissing. Margot sticks her head through the outside kitchen door: “we are all ready. Whenever you are, lovebirds”, Spiros smiles sweetly, gives Louisa one last kiss, then he grabs his hat and car keys and walks towards the car with the children.

(*trnsl: nyfi = bride)

  * As they drive to town, Margot speaks with serious voice: “Spiro, can we have a word?”, he makes a big smile: “of course, Margot, what’s up?”, “well, I am sure you know about yesterday morning’s conversation with the cousins”, he sounds serious now: “I do…”, “mother was rather upset”, he sounds sad now: “yes, I know…”, “she thinks they were in good faith and did not realize they were going to upset her so much”, Leslie blurts: “but we don’t believe that”, Gerry nods: “we think they don’t truly care whether she gets upset or not”, Margot adds: “or whether she loves you or not”, Gerry continues: “they could see that perfectly well, yet, they still brought Hugh up just a few minutes later. You had barely left the house”, Leslie adds: “they just want her married to Hugh because he has money and he will bring us all back to England”, Margot agrees: “and we are sure they will go after her again, to persuade her to marry Hugh”, Gerry continues: “and upset her again”, Leslie adds: “they will wait for her to be alone, when she is more vulnerable” Margot nods: “they know she is vulnerable. She cried yesterday when they brought Hugh up. At some point, she was sobbing”, Gerry adds: “and she was still visibly upset hours later”, Spiros replies with sad voice: “I know… she is doing much better than before, but that is still a very painful wound she carries. Her trauma is still very close to the surface”.
  * Margot continues: “we know it and we saw it yesterday. So, we’ve made a plan”, Spiros sounds surprised now: “a plan?”, Margot nods: “yes, we will make sure she is never left alone with them. When you are not at home, at least one of us will be with her, to help her in case they go back onto that topic”, Gerry adds, angry: “if they dare to do that, I won’t be as polite this time!”, Leslie agrees: “neither will I!”, Margot sounds angry too: “nor I!”. Meanwhile they have arrived in town. Spiros parks the car and turns towards the children: “I think that is a great idea. I will also make sure I stay at home a lot, but I ask that you let me inform your mother of your plan. I don’t like to keep things from her. It’s not how we function as a couple. We tell things to each other”, Margot smiles: “we know, and it is beautiful. Of course you can tell her”, Gerry agrees: “we have no reasons to keep it a secret from mother”, Leslie adds: “just from those bastards”,
  * Spiros smiles, then looks at them sweetly: “You clearly love your mother very much and are always willing to help and support her. You are such wonderful people…”, a tear rolls down his cheek. He takes his handkerchief out of his pocket and blows his nose. Margot reaches for him, and gives him a big hug: “we do love our mother, and we are happy when we see how much you love her”, Leslie nods: “we’d do anything to allow you to continue to do that”, Gerry smiles: “you make her very happy, Spiro”, he smiles sweetly: “and she makes me very happy!”. The children smile. They know it. Leslie smirks: “off to work and tutor, siblings, before we become too sentimental here!”, Spiros smiles: “too Greek, you mean?”, Leslie nods: “nai afti’ itan mia poly’ elliniki’ stigmi’!*” they all laugh and the siblings get off the car. Spiros drives back home.

(*trnsl: that was a very Greek moment)

  * When he gets home, Spiros is happy to find Larry with Louisa and her cousins, all sitting around the veranda table. He winks at him. He winks back. He knows his siblings have talked to him. That was part of their plan. Louisa approaches Spiros. They kiss, then Spiros turns towards the cousins and speaks with his jovial voice: “all ready?”, Prue nods: “I just need 5 minutes to grab my handbag”, Spiros smiles: “take your time, we are in no rush”, Geoffrey, Basil, and Prue return to their bedrooms. While waiting, Spiros tells Louisa about her children’s plan. She seems surprised, then she turns towards Larry: “thank you, dear, I appreciate your concern”, “of course, mother, we couldn’t just let them reopen your wounds over and over”, Spiros wraps his arms around her and gives her a loving kiss: “after all of the progress you have made in the past several months”. She kisses him back, then she goes to Larry and kisses his cheek: “I am such a lucky woman, thank you both for caring so much”, Larry smiles. In that moment the cousins join them. Spiros smiles: “if you all sit in the car we can drive to town now”, he turns towards Louisa and hugs her again: “see you later, my love. Have a good day”, they kiss, then Louisa smiles at him sweetly: “you too, love, not too busy, I hope”, he kisses her again: “not really, after the ferry I can come home for lunch”, “see you soon then”, they kiss again, then Spiros turns towards Larry and winks: “see you later”.
  * Larry smiles: “happy they are out of our air for a few hours”, Louisa sighs: “I must admit I am happy too. I never thought I’d say that about my own family”, Larry makes a smirk: “all of us?”, she chuckles: “no, only them, really. Well, all is quiet now. You can relax and concentrate on your writing, Larry”, “yes, I think I will go back to my bedroom now”, as he is leaving Larry sees that Louisa is taking out her writing material, letter paper, ink, and nib, “oh are you going to be writing too, mother?”, “yes, we are having a little tea party next week”, “that’s a nice idea. Who are you inviting?”, “our close friends, the Petridis, the Stephanides, the British judge and Georgia, the British consul and Soula, Alecko and Irene. Spiros believes that if the cousins meet happy English-Greek couples they will come around about the two of us”, he looks skeptical: “that’s hard to believe, honestly”, “I know, I am not very hopeful either, but it will still be nice to have our friends over. They will make a nice diversion from my cousins”, “indeed, happy writing then”, “thank you Larry”. She writes all of the invitations, then she puts them on a side, to be brought to the post office later. Then she helps Lugaretzia with the laundry for a while, until: “time for me to prepare lunch”, Lugaretzia replies: “I can help”, “thank you, but I think I have it all under control”, Lugaretzia looks perplexed, but she does not insist. She finishes with the house cleaning, then she approaches the door: “yassas*”, Louisa smiles: “if you wait a bit, Spiro will be back and he can drive you home. Lugaretzia thinks for a bit then: “no, I walk. It is safer. Cars are dangerous”, Louisa rolls her eyes: “as you wish, see you tomorrow”.

(*trnsl: yassas: goodbye plural/formal form)

  * Not much later, Spiros returns from town with the cousins, he drops them off, then makes a whistling sound towards Larry’s room. “Larry, I am going back to pick up your siblings. Did you need a lift to town?”, Larry joins them downstairs: “no thank you, Spiro”, Spiros leaves, happy that Larry is with Louisa now. After lunch, Spiros takes Louisa’s hand in his: “love, I am going back to town now. Did you want to go with me?”, “sure, why not? I was going to ask you to post a few letters but I may just hand deliver them”, he turns towards the others: “anybody else needs a lift?”, Prue looks tired: “no thank you, we did enough walking this morning. I think I will just relax here now”, Basil nods: “me too, I want to write a few letters to England”, Geoffrey smiles: “me too”, Spiros pulls Louisa’s hand gently: “it seems it’s just the two of us, love, let’s go then”, they walk to the car hand in hand, looking very happy.
  * In town they drop by their friends’ homes and deliver their tea invitations. Florence smiles: “nice idea Louisa, the day works well for us. We will be there”, Spiros smiles: “excellent, all happy I hope”, Florence looks puzzled: “happy?”, Louisa laughs and briefly explains the issue with her cousins, “so sorry, Louisa. Visiting family can be great fun but also a source of headaches. Don’t worry we will make sure we show our happy side”, she smiles: “thank you my friend, that should not be too hard”, Florence laughs: “not at all. We will just up our smooching a bit”, they all smile, then they continue their rounds. Last, they stop at the consulate, “thank you so much for the invitation. It is such a nice idea. Unfortunately, Soula and I will be away. We will be on the mainland to visit some of Soula’s relatives, leaving tomorrow and returning next Wednesday night, so too late for your tea party”. Spiros smiles: “oh that’s too bad, I hope you will have a good time”, “thank you, we will, but I know Soula will be upset when I tell her we will miss tea with you. She really enjoys our gatherings”, Louisa smiles: “so do we. We will just make sure we organize more tea parties when you are back”.

  * After they are done, Spiros grabs Louisa’s hand and begins walking in a direction that takes them away from the car. She seems surprised: “where are we going, love?”, he makes a naughty smile: “just trust me”, she intertwines her fingers with his and continues walking along: “of course, love, I always trust you”, he laughs: “always? I will remind you of this statement, my love”, she laughs: “is that so? Then, before you use it against me I should amend that statement and add: ‘most of the time’!”, they both laugh and continue walking until they reach the outskirts of town. Spiros leads her along a narrow path that goes down towards the coast. They reach a beautiful beach, “oh, I did not realize there was an access to a beach here”, he smiles at her sweetly, then he embraces her in a tight hug and kisses her tenderly. She happily returns his hug and kiss. Then, he takes off his Jacket and puts it on the sand. They sit on it, close to each other. She leans her head against his shoulder: “this is so nice and relaxing”, he wraps his arm around her back: “we can sit here for a while. We will be alone. At this time of the year people don’t go to the beach. The water is too cold for swimming, but a nice day like today is perfect for just relaxing in the sun on the warm sand”.
  * He makes a naughty smile, then he turns towards her “…and a great opportunity to take advantage of you, my beauty”, then he gives her another kiss. Longer this time. She happily returns it. He opens his mouth and uses his tongue to part her lips. As they exchange a long sensual kiss, he begins touching her through her clothes. She moans lightly. She undoes a few buttons of his shirt and puts her hands underneath, gently stroking his chest and his back with her fingernails. He has many small shivers: “mmm, I call this provocation, my love”, she smiles in his mouth, still kissing him: “you’ve started it, love”. As he continues kissing her, he puts his hand under her skirt and strokes her thigh: “happy to continue…”. She undoes his flap’s buttons and reaches inside his underwear. He pushes his hand up along her legs, gently caressing the sensitive skin of her inner thighs. She moans softly while wrapping her hand around his sex and stroking him gently. They are both moaning now. He snakes his hand further up along her thighs, moves her knickers, and reaches inside of her with his fingers. Meanwhile he opens a few buttons of her shirt and kisses her neck and cleavage. Then he moves her bra and frees a breast. He kisses it and sucks on the nipple. She moans. They continue stimulating each other for some time, with increasingly rapid strokes accompanied by intense moans. When he feels that she is close, he reaches up with his thumb and stimulates her clitoris. She gasps and moans more loudly. Suddenly, he feels her tighten around his fingers and exhale deeply, as she reaches her climax. A few more strokes with her hand and he reaches his.
  * Afterwards, they lean against each other, catching their breath. Then he lays on his back. She leans against him. Her head in the crook of his neck, her arm hugging his chest. He wraps his arms around her and for several minutes they cuddle quietly, just happy and relaxed with one other. They doze off. Two fishermen walk by and make lewd comments in Greek. Good thing the two lovers are oblivious to that. Still sound asleep. When they wake up it is late afternoon. He talks to her sweetly: “mmm, it’s time to go back home, love. We should prepare tea for our guests”, she groans, then she turns her still sleepy eyes downwards and smiles: “before we go back we’d better clean you up a bit, love”. She takes her handkerchief and uses it to clean inside his trousers and underwear. He grabs her hand, stops her, and takes the handkerchief: “I’d better do it myself. If you keep doing that, there may be more, not less, mess in there soon”. She giggles. As she watches him clean himself, she delivers soft kisses all over his neck and cheek. When he is done, they get up, walk back to the car, and drive back home.
  * Larry is sitting on the veranda alone. Spiros and Louisa join him. Larry makes a smirk with knowing eyes: “welcome back, lovebirds. It took you a while to deliver those few invites, didn’t it?”, Spiros laughs: “I had your mother to myself for a change, so I took the opportunity to take her on a romantic walk along the beach”, Larry makes a naughty smirk: it must have been very ‘romantic’ if the result is sand all over your hair and clothes”. Louisa looks at Spiros and laughs, blushed, then she reaches with her hand and wipes the sand off his Jacket and head: “this is not working, love, the sand is stuck to the skin of your head. You will need to take a bath and wash your hair”, Spiros gets up, laughing: “fine, fine, I will. Care to join me, love?”, she blushes and swats him: “Spiro!”, Larry laughs. Spiros winks at them, then goes to the bathroom. Louisa gets up too: “time to make tea, it will be ready after Spiro is done with his bath”.

  * That evening more letters arrive. They are all sitting in the living room. Louisa and Spiro are sitting next to each other on one of the sofas, and they are opening letters, updating their records of guests and their arrival dates. Louisa is holding a letter: “Brenda and Jim will get here the week before the wedding, on Saturday March 4th, with the evening ferry from Brindisi”, Margot smiles: “how lovely!”, then she turns towards the cousins: “last year they were guests here and Brenda was very active bringing our lovebirds together”, Spiros smiles: “I can only appreciate those efforts”, Louisa agrees: “me too, she created some awkward situations, but she meant well”, Prue smiles: “then I look forward to meeting them. They sound like nice people”. That sounded very insincere, but they all pretend they believe her and nod their heads. Spiros looks at Louisa: “my love, you should write back that we will pick them up at the docks. They can stay here. I’d do anything for anyone who has helped us get to this happiness”, she smiles at him sweetly: “indeed!”, they kiss. Geoffrey rolls his eyes. The children can see that. Larry remarks: “the two of you are always so romantic”, Spiros makes a happy smile: “it’s your mother’s fault. She is just too lovely”, he looks at her fondly. She smiles at him very sweetly: “you are very lovely too…”. They kiss again. Larry smiles. He knew they’d do that. He triggered it intentionally. He knows it bothers Geoffrey and Prue and watching their reaction to his mother and Spiros’ romantic interactions gives him an evil satisfaction.
  * Louisa opens another letter and makes a very happy smile” “we will have a full house. Aunt Patience will get here on the 3rd”, Larry adds: “I have received a letter from JeeJee this morning. He will arrive on that same day!”, Louisa makes a happy smile: “I am so happy he will stay for a few days. He is such a nice fellow. I really enjoyed talking with him the last time he was here”, Gerry smiles: “yes the two of you kept talking in Hindi, reminiscing about India, and making Indian food together”, Leslie smirks: “that was so delicious that we all put on weight!”, they all laugh. Spiros looks at Louisa, laughing: “you said you enjoyed him? How much? Should I be jealous?”, she chuckles: “he is Larry’s age!”, Spiros smiles sweetly: “all the better, isn’t it? Young and from your beloved India. I can’t compete with that!”, she laughs, then she looks at him very sweetly: “there is no need for you to ever be jealous, Spiro, you know how much I love you…”, he looks at her very, very lovingly. He wraps his arms around her: “and I love you”, they exchange another long loving kiss. Prue looks away. Geoffrey squirms uncomfortably in his armchair. Larry makes one of his smug smirks: “are you uncomfortable, cousin Geoffrey? Should I get you a different chair?”, “no thank you, Larry, I was just adjusting my legs”.
  * Meanwhile Spiros and Louisa are still kissing, lost in their own world. Margot is looking at them smiling sweetly: “always so sweet…”, Gerry nods: “cooing like pigeons, mating for life like sandhill cranes”, Prue interjects with hard voice: “that sounded rude, Gerry!”, Margot smirks: “why rude? It sounded very romantic to me”, Gerry sneers: “is it because I have used the verb ‘to mate’, cousin?”, Prue looks at him with a stern gaze: “you should wash your mouth, young man!”, Larry intervenes: “that is actually a common term in Natural Sciences. Gerry has used it very appropriately”, Prue looks cross now: “maybe, but it sounds rude to me”, Gerry laughs: “I should give you a tour of my animals, cousin. Mating season is on right now. There is lots of ‘fun’ activity in my zoo these days”, Prue blushes: “never!”, Leslie, Larry, and Margot laugh. In that moment, Louisa and Spiros stop kissing. They were so taken with each other that haven’t heard a word. Louisa smiles: “why are you all laughing?”, Margot smirks: “Gerry has volunteered to give cousin Prue a tour of his animals”, Louisa smiles happily: “oh, that is such a lovely idea, Gerry, thank you!”. The siblings all make a smug smirk.
  * Spiros opens another letter, then he hands it to Louisa: “I think this is also from friends of yours. Sorry I have opened it. It was addressed to _ Mrs. and Mr. Halikiopoulos_”, she smiles at him sweetly: “I have no problems with you opening my post. I have no secretes with you, gampro’ mou”, Spiros smiles: “and I love it when I see _Mr. and Mrs. Halikiopoulos_, agapimeni nyfi mou, it reminds me of the lucky man I am!”, she smiles at him sweetly: “and I am a very lucky and happy woman!” they look at each other very lovingly and kiss again. Another long kiss. The children see the disapproval on Prue’s and Geoffrey’s faces and make very happy smiles. Larry explains: “gampros means groom and nyfi means bride in Greek. You should learn the basic terms for the wedding, cousins”, Basil nods: “sure, why not… gampros and nyfi… and what does agghiappiomeni mean?”, Gerry laughs: “it’s _agapimeni_, and it means beloved. It’s the feminine form. The masculine is agapimenos. So you’d say agapimeni nyfi, and agapimenos gampros’”. Basil smiles: “I am impressed with your Greek, Gerry”, “well, we have been living in Greece for almost 4 years”, Margot adds: “and we all speak Greek”, Leslie nods: “even mother has been learning it, from Spiro”. Meanwhile Spiros and Louisa are still kissing happily. Finally, they stop. He makes a happy smile then: “the house will be full and we will be busy, but this is all so great”, he looks at Louisa lovingly: “I am so happy your family and friends will be joining us, my love”, she makes a happy smile: “me too”, they kiss again. Margot smiles sweetly: “it’s one of those very romantic evenings, apparently”, Larry smiles: “well, it’s understandable. Their Greek wedding will be very soon. They will finally celebrate their love with family and friends”, the children all smile sweetly. The cousins smile too, much tighter and less sincere smiles…
  * Spiros and Louisa stop kissing. Louisa comments: “we won’t be able to put all of these people up here”, Margot smiles: “I don’t mind sharing my room with one of the guests”, Gerry nods: “and I can share my bedroom too”, Leslie agrees: “I can stay with Gerry and some guests can have my bedroom”, Larry adds: “if we can fit a third coot in Gerry’s room, I can give up my bedroom too”, Spiros looks at them with sweet eyes: “thank you, you are all being so wonderful”, Louisa smiles: “even so, we won’t be able to fit everyone in our house”, Spiros nods: “I have talked to some of our friends. The Petridis and Stephanides say they are happy to host people in their guest rooms”, Louisa smiles: “that’s so nice of them!”, Spiros continues: “and I have identified a few guest houses nearby that can accommodate some of them. The owners are my friends. They say they are happy to do that. They all speak at least some English, so that should not be a problem”. Louisa leans towards him and kisses him: “thank you my love, you are always so organized”. He smiles at her very sweetly. They kiss again.
  * Then she reads the last letter: “aunt Prudence is arriving on March 3rd too!”, Spiros smiles: “excellent!”, Prue seems surprised: “isn’t she Lawrence’s sister?” Louisa nods: “yes, she is the only one of the Durrell’s family to have agreed to attend”, Margot adds: “and we did invite several of them”, Geoffrey remarks: “well, of course they wouldn’t attend!”, Louisa asks: “why not? They are my and my children’s close relatives and it’s not that I am betraying Lawrence. He has been dead for 11 years!”, Prue smiles: “of course, dear, but they’d still think you shouldn’t be remarrying, especially not with a Greek taxi driver…”, Louisa sounds angry now: “are you saying that I am marrying down? That Spiro is not good enough, English enough, or blond enough for our families?”, Prue looks at Geoffrey: “well…”, Louisa, still quite angry, interrupts her: “well what? Spiro is a well-educated and loving man and I feel very lucky he’d want to marry me”, Larry tries to diffuse the situation by speaking slowly and calmly: “I am always impressed with how well read he is… and his English is often better than ours! He does an excellent job correcting the spelling in my writing”, Gerry adds: “and in mine! And he is very knowledgeable of plants and animals and he helps me with my math homework”, Leslie interjects, angry: “he even knows about guns! And frankly it’s none of your business who mother chooses to marry”, Margot sounds exasperated now: “mother and Spiro are happy together, why can’t you just be happy for them?”.
  * Louisa and Spiros are quiet now. She looks very angry, her lips shivering. Spiros squeezes her hand, winks at her, and smiles at her very sweetly. Then he looks at the Durrell siblings: “yes, we are happy together and I really appreciate your support, children”, he turns to the cousins now: “I am sure the rest of you will come to see our marriage for what it is: the coronation of a beautiful love story that will continue into a happy life together”, he continues talking to the cousins, while holding Louisa’s hand in his: “I know I am not rich, and my skin and my hair are dark, and I have a thick accent in English, and my grammar is not always proper”, he looks at Louisa sweetly now: “…but I truly love your cousin and I intend to make her happiness my life mission. Always. You can take this as my solemn promise to the Dixie and Durrell families…”, then he looks at each of the cousins directly: “…and to you, personally”. Louisa is looking at him very sweetly, she puts her hands behind his neck, stares into his eyes, and speaks with soft, loving, voice: “I love your sweet accent, I love your olive skin, and I love your dark hair. And when you look at me with your beautiful black eyes I feel like I am drowning in their depth. You are my best friend and my true love. I am very, very, happy with you and I know we will continue to be happy. I can’t wait to walk into the Greek church and marry you”, they look at each other very lovingly, then they hug and kiss again. Another very long kiss.
  * The children look at their cousins. They are all quiet. Leslie smiles sweetly: “well, with this dose of molasses, I think I am ready for a long sleep and very, very, sweet dreams”. They all get up and go to their bedrooms: “goodnight”, “goodnight”…

  * A few days later. Morning. Louisa and Spiros are up early and make breakfast together. The Durrell siblings and the cousins join them. Louisa greets them: “good morning, do sit down, breakfast is ready”, Spiros smiles: “today I have made my specialties”, Margot asks with hopeful voice: “pancakes?”, Gerry, also with hopeful voice, adds: “or your wonderful omelets?”, Spiros laughs: “both!”, Margot jumps up in her chair: “yea!!”, Gerry adds: “yea!!!”, Larry agrees: “yea!!!”, Leslie joins in: “yea!!”. Louisa laughs: “my breakfast never gets such enthusiastic responses!”, Larry smirks: “that was so cheesy mother, you know that we all love your breakfasts!”, Leslie nods: “especially the Indian breakfasts!”, “then I will need to make one soon, darling”, Gerry adds: “yea!!”, Spiros smiles: “you seem to like them all, Gerry”, they all laugh, Gerry smiles happily: “indeed!”. Prue smiles: “well, you got me curious to try this special breakfast”, as always that sounded very insincere, but they all pretend they believe her and smile. During breakfast, Louisa makes a big smile: “I hope you have no plans for this afternoon, folks”, Prue looks surprised: “why, do you have plans for us?”, “yes, we have invited several friends for tea. I’d like you to meet our friends, cousins”, Basil smiles: “that sounds good, we have no plans for this afternoon”, Geoffrey nods: “and tea is always good. We are English, after all”, Spiros smiles: “excellent, they will be here at around 3:30 or 4. I will be picking them up with the car”, Larry offers: “I am happy to do that, if you wish, Spiro”, “thank you Larry, maybe I will take you up on that offer. This way I can stay here and help your mother prepare”, Louisa looks at her son sternly: “unlike you, son, finding excuses to avoid helping”, Larry laughs: “touché!”

  * After lunch Louisa and Spiros are busy preparing sweets to go with tea. Gerry and Margo are helping. Prue is helping too, putting the sweets on serving plates as they are ready. Geoffrey, Basil, Leslie, and Larry are on the veranda, setting up a longer table that will accommodate all of them and their tea guests. Larry walks into the kitchen: “all is ready out there. I will go and pick up our guests, now”, “thank you darling, can you also pick up the countess? Yesterday we managed to convince her to join us”, “of course!”, Larry leaves. He returns shortly with his first load, the countess, the Petridis, and the Stephanides. Then he goes back to town to pick up the judge and Georgia and Alecko and Irene. Meanwhile, the cousins and the first set of guests are all sitting around the table chatting amicably. When Larry returns to the house with the second round of guests he jokes: “watch what you do or say, I have brought law and order”, they all laugh, Prue seems puzzled: “law and order?”, Larry introduces their guests, the judge and their lawyer friend with their respective spouses, Basil goes along with Larry’s joke: “well, I hope we are not in any trouble”, Margot smirks: “you should know that, Basil, you are a solicitor too”, they all laugh. Meanwhile Spiros and Louisa walk back and forth from the kitchen with teapots and plates full of sweets.
  * Florence and Maria know the real reason behind this tea gathering and intentionally bring the conversation to that topic. Maria smiles at the cousins: “we are happy you could come here for the wedding”, Florence smiles too: “yes, one more couple that will add to the list of mixed Greek-English couples on Corfu”, she turns towards her husband and smiles lovingly, Maria smiles sweetly and reaches for Theo’s hand: “all happy couples”, Prue makes a tight smile: “I am sure cultural differences create conflict”, Geoffrey speaks with patronizing voice: “indeed, that must be unavoidable”, Louisa and Spiros look at each other, but say nothing. The children roll their eyes. Georgia does not know the reason behind the tea party but sees those reactions and decides to talk too: “my husband and I do have disagreements, of course, that is natural, but they are never caused by cultural differences”, Florence agrees: “the same is true for us. Those differences enrich our marriage”, Maria smiles: “they don’t create conflict, they make life more interesting”, Spiros puts his arm around Louisa’s shoulders: “Louisa and I have known each other for more than 4 years. Cultural differences are part of our love, never a reason for conflict. When I look at you all, still clearly happy together after several years of marriage, I _know_ Louisa and I will be equally happy”.
  * Basil intervenes: “well, in my practice in England I see many divorcing couples. A large number of them are of mixed cultures. I think that proves that cultural differences _do_ create conflict within a couple and wear marriages out in the long term. You must all be exceptions to that rule”, he turns to look directly at Louisa now: “…thus, all of these marriages are no good predictors for what your life will be like if you go ahead with this wedding, cousin”. Louisa looks upset now. Theo sees that and steps in: “Basil, please forgive me saying, but you are misinterpreting your data. You have a biased sample. As a divorce lawyer, you only see those marriages that do not work out. Among those it may very well be that cultural differences play a role. However, what you don’t see in your sample are all of the happy couples, including many mixed culture couples, whose marriages do not end in divorce. There are several Greek-English couples on this island. As far as I know none of them has gone on to break up or divorce. Based on _this_ sample, failure rate among mixed culture couples seems very low. In this regard then, the happy couples are, indeed, the best predictor for Louisa and Spiro’s marriage”, the judge intervenes: “very well put, Theo. Using a biased sample to make general predictions is a well-known fallacy”, Georgia looks at him: “I know what you mean, but you always talk difficult, dear…”, he smiles: “sorry, there is a simpler way of putting it, my dear”, he looks straight into her eyes: “I am still very happy you’d agree to marry me 20 years ago. I love you today as much as I loved you then, Georgia, and the fact that I am English and you are Greek makes me love you more, not less”, she miles sweetly at him: “I love you too, my Englishman. I am very happy with you and I know we will always be happy together”, he wraps his arms around his wife and they exchange a long kiss. Margot smiles: “awwww… that was sooo sweet!”.
  * The countess is watching them all, she makes a sweet/sad smile: “my Greek husband and I were very happy together. We learned from each other’s cultures. We enriched each other’s lives with our differences. As a psychiatrist, I have seen many couples. Some happy, some not. Whether or not they were of mixed cultural background did not seem to make a big difference. What did matter were respect, character affinity, and love. I see those in Spiros and Louisa. They are one of the best matched couples I have known. I am _certain_ their marriage will be happy”, Spiros is holding Louisa’s hand in his and smiles sweetly: “thank you, countess, I like to think that too”, then he turns towards Louisa’s cousins: “I appreciate your concern for your cousins’ happiness. I only wish you could feel it in your heart what I feel for Louisa. Then you’d know that I truly mean it when I say that her happiness will always be my life priority. I have never loved any woman the way I love her. I _know_ our love is true and deep, based on reciprocal respect and understanding. I _know_ it will not fade with time. Rather, it will grow and strengthen itself as we travel our life journey together. I _know_ our marriage will be happy…”. Louisa looks at him with truly loving eyes: “I _know_ all of that too, Spiro… I love you”, they hug tightly and kiss. A long kiss.
  * Florence smiles sweetly, then looks at the cousins: “Louisa and I are good friends. I have known her since she first moved to Corfu’ almost 4 years ago. She was a sad and troubled widow back then, struggling to overcome her grief and raise her 4 children alone. With Spiro she has flourished. And her children have flourished too. If your concern about this marriage has to do with the happiness of your cousin and her family, then please believe me when I say that marrying Spiro is the best thing Louisa can do. Their love is the best thing that has happened to her in a very long time”.
  * At this point the cousins realize they can’t argue this any longer. Prue speaks slowly, clearly looking for the words she wants to say: “you are correct, Florence, our concern is not only about Louisa’s happiness, but also that of her children. If you all are correct that this marriage will be happy and will bring happiness to our cousins, then we should celebrate it with them”. She picks up her tea cup and toasts: “to a happy couple and a happy marriage”. They all use their tea cups for this unconventional toast. Larry and his siblings look at each other, perplexed. Like before, that did not sound sincere at all. Larry decides to steer the conversation away from that topic. There is no point really: “such wonderful weather today. Corfu truly is Paradise…”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The names of the relatives and friends mentioned here are all historically correct, based on Michael Hagg's book "The Durrells of Corfu". I only made up Jim and Brenda Adams for this story (back in chpt 1). The other characters are all from the TV series, whether historically accurate or not. 
> 
> Incidentally, there IS a countess described in Gerald Durrell's book. Her name was 'Melanie countess De Torro". I don't think she was the inspiration for the TV series' countess Mavrodaki, though. Her description in Gerald Durell's book is closer to that of the countess who is their house guest in series 4 (can't remember her TV name, sorry). Here is an excerpt from Gerald Durrell's "My Family and Other Animals': 'She was tall, thin, with a face like an ancient horse, crow-black eyebrows, and an enormous cushion of scarlet hair on her head. She had hardly been in the house five minutes before she complained of the heat, and to mother's consternation and my delight, she caught hold of her scarlet hair and removed it, revealing a head as bald as a mushroom top".
> 
> That description is followed by a funny misunderstanding between Louisa and the countess who tells her she removes her wig often because she has erysipelas. Louisa understands 'syphilis' and has a fit (in Gerald Durrell's book countess De Torro was one of the many weird house guests brought to Corfu by Larry). This misunderstanding is partly captured in the TV series, but left unresolved (I think, correct me if I am wrong, pls). In Gerald Durrell's book it is eventually resolved by good old Theodore Stephanides.
> 
> FYI, many of Gerald Durrell's books are available for free download in this web site: https://www.e-reading.club/bookbyauthor.php?author=22645
> 
> And here: https://www.pdfdrive.com/


	29. The dark side of family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where we learn the true scope of Prue's, Geoffrey's, and Basil's disapproval of their marriage.  
Wedding preps continue regardless...

  * Like everybody else, Louisa’s cousins don’t know that Louisa and Spiros are already married.
  * One evening they are sitting on the sofas in the living room. Basil looks at Louisa: “your Greek wedding will be in a few weeks, but you will also need to marry by British law if you want your marriage to be recognized in the British world and to be allowed into England together.”, “we know it, cousin, we plan to do that after the Greek wedding”, “well, you may not know it, but I happen to be certified to celebrate civil marriages. I have a copy of a marriage license with me. I can marry you by British law now so that Spiros can acquire British citizenship through marriage and move to England with you. This way you can always be together, even in the event of a war”. Louisa is suspicious of this sudden change of heart about their marriage. Basil hands the license to her: “if you sign it I can officially marry the two of you. It only requires your signature, Louisa, because you are British. Spiros’ signature is not necessary”. That doesn’t sound right. They know they have both signed that form when they got married at the consulate. They have their own copies in their bedroom. As she takes the paper, handed to her with the signature side up, Louisa is horrified to see that on the first page her and Hugh Jarvis’ names are listed as the marrying couple. She is so furious she can’t speak. With teary and really angry eyes she shows the license to Spiros and her children, then she throws it in the fireplace. Then she stands up and screams: “how can you try to extort this from me? Haven’t you seen what Hugh has done to me? Can’t you see that Spiro is the man I love? I want you all out of my house. Immediately!”, the children are stunned.
  * Spiros intercedes with sweet voice: “Louisa, calm down, love. You can’t kick them out. They are your family. They’ve made a mistake but they will come around. We will be married in a few weeks. Your family should celebrate our happiness with us”, he takes her hand in his and gently makes her sit back on the sofa, next to him. Louisa sits quietly. She is surprised by Spiros’ forceful position in support of her cousins. Spiros puts his arm around her shoulders, looks at her lovingly, then speaks with very sweet voice: “you look tired, my love. Let’s just go to bed and rest”, then he turns towards the others: “we should all sleep on this. I am sure things will look different tomorrow”. The children seem surprised too, but they say nothing. They just nod, then they get up and go to their bedrooms: “goodnight”. Spiros and Louisa go upstairs too. In the privacy of their bedroom he hugs her and whispers: “I am sorry I have contradicted you, my love. This attempt to make you sign a marriage license without your consent has crossed the line of legality. This is more than simple disapproval of your choice. I don’t trust them anymore. I’d rather have them in the house with us. I want to be able to keep an eye on them”, Louisa nods. She looks exhausted. That complete exhaustion that follows a very strong emotion. They wear their pajamas and go to bed. He hugs, caresses, and kisses her sweetly. She falls asleep in his arms.

  * The next day Geoffrey and Basil sneak out of the house early in the morning. They walk to the British consulate, Basil hands him a folder: “consul, we have brought this marriage license to you. It is signed by all parties and I have celebrated the marriage”, the consul is very surprised when he sees Hugh’s and Louisa’s names on the paper. He knows that he has married her to Spiros weeks earlier. He also knows how in love with Spiros Louisa is and how much she hates Hugh. Not only she can’t marry again (she’d be guilty of bigamy), he also knows she’d never consent to marry Hugh. He does not disclose that Louisa is already Mrs. Halikiopoulou. He takes the marriage license from Basil: “I will process the paperwork in the next few weeks. It takes a while before we receive the go ahead to certify and communicate a marriage to all British authorities”. Basil and Geoffrey leave.
  * The consul compares the signatures on the previous and the current marriage licenses. He knows that the first is authentic because Louisa has signed it in front of him and he has formally certified its authenticity. On the second license Louisa’s signature is clearly forged. He also finds some old documents in his file with Hugh’s signature. The signature on the phoney marriage license is similar. He is not sure whether or not it is forged. He decides to go to the bottom of the matter. He immediately sends copies of the documents for formal expert calligraphic assessment.

  * Louisa and Spiros wake up early but remain in bed for a while, cuddling. They hug each other and coo sweetly, exchanging soft loving kisses. After several minutes, their kisses become more passionate. They start touching each other’s bodies. They make love. Then they go back to hug tenderly. He whispers with very sweet voice: “I am so in love with you, Louisa”, she answers with loving voice: “I love you too, Spiro”. They remain in bed, naked, hugging for quite some time. These moments are so very precious and they both enjoy them very much. 
  * When they get up Larry is in the kitchen alone: “good morning lovebirds, breakfast is ready on the cooker”, Spiros smiles: “thank you Larry”, they fill their plates and sit down to eat. Louisa asks: “where are the cousins?”, Larry replies: “Prue went for a walk along the path behind the house. I don’t know where Basil and Geoffrey are. They were not here when I got up”, Louisa is not happy about that: “after last night’s attempt to marry me to Hugh, I fear they may be scheming up something else”, Spiros nods: “we should drive to the consulate. They may have gone there”, Louisa looks perplexed: “I have not signed that license so I am not sure why they would go to the consul, but we might as well check in with him. Him and Soula should be back from their trip to the mainland”.
  * Spiros and Louisa are sitting on two chairs across the desk of the consul. The consul gets up and recovers a file in a filing cabinet behind them: “I am happy you came. I was going to call for you”, he reaches from behind and leans between them. He shows them the license Basil has handed him earlier, with the forged signature. Louisa becomes very upset and starts crying: “I can’t believe they’d do this to me, my own cousins”, the consul is standing behind them and puts his hand on her shoulder to console her. Louisa screams: “no! no!”, her eyes are closed now “no, Hugh, no, Hugh, stop, stop, help!”, Spiros speaks to her sweetly: “listen to my voice, love, listen to me. It’s Spiro. I am here with you, you are safe, love”, Louisa quiets down, still with her eyes closed, “open your eyes Louisa, look at me”, she opens her eyes, “who do you see?”, she sobs: “Spiro, my love”, “yes it’s me, and you are safe with me, love”, he opens his arms. She moves towards him. He hugs her. The attack is over. She cries softly in his arms. The consul is very contrite: “I am so sorry about that. I knew about your PTS, Louisa. I was at the trial. I should not have touched you”, Spiros replies: “I know it was unintentional. She will be all right, but she needs a bit of time to fully recover now”, “please, follow me”, he leads them to his office at the back of the building. Spiros and Louisa sit on a sofa. She is still crying in his arms, “you can stay here as long as you need. It is quiet and private. I will send for some tea”, he leaves, closing his office door behind him. 
  * Later, Spiros lets the consul know Louisa is well again. The consul goes to his office: “I am so truly sorry I have triggered that attack, Louisa”, “it’s not your fault, really. It’s Hugh who has done this to me”, “as for your legal situation, you don’t need to worry about being charged with bigamy. I will not process your second marriage. So don’t worry, you are still Mrs. Halikiopoulou. Your first marriage holds and this will never officially exist. Not only the signature on the second license is clearly forged, I am also prepared to testify that I have personally celebrated your first marriage, with you being fully consenting to it. Louisa and Spiros seem very relieved. They lovingly look at each other and hug: “thank you, consul”. 
  * The consul continues: “however, I should inform you that I have decided to pursue this matter further. I have already sent the two documents for calligraphic assessment to formally prove that your signature on the second license is forged. I will then send the assessment to the British and Greek authorities. This is an infringement of both laws, carried out in this British office on Greek soil. Basil will be persecuted for this, possibly by a joint British/Greek tribunal, following an existing bilateral agreement. He may lose his license to practice law. There may be a trial, though, and you may both be called to testify. I hope you will agree to do it. I would not want to let him get away with this”, “as much as I hate the idea of another trial, I agree with your course of action, consul and I will testify, if needed. I still can’t believe my own family would be so cruel to me”, Spiros hugs her: “neither can I. I have a very strong sense of family and this is just incomprehensible. As much as I’d want to avoid you the stress of another trial, my love, I also think that this is the right thing to do”, Louisa looks at the consul: “thank you for your support”, he smiles: “my pleasure, justice needs to be done”. Spiros and Louisa get up to leave: “goodbye, give our regards to Soula! It’s too bad the two of you have missed our little tea party. We will need to plan more!”, “I am sure Soula would love that. I know I would!”, then he smiles: “goodbye _Mr. and Mrs. Halikiopoulos_”. They smile, they are not used to being called that yet, but they like it. They leave arm in arm.

  * Back home, Basil is sitting on the veranda, looking content: “Geoffrey and I went for a long morning stroll. The weather is beautifully mild for this time of the year. This island truly is paradise. We understand why you like it here, cousin”, Spiros smiles looking at Louisa: “it’s not just the island. It’s the very handsome Greek men that are the main attraction”, she smiles at him sweetly: “indeed! Handsome and heart-stealing”, they look at each other lovingly and kiss softly, Spiros smiles: “this makes me want to take you on a romantic walk, my love”. She smiles sweetly at him. They kiss again, then they walk along the path at the back of the house, their arms around each other’s lower backs. Once out of sight, Louisa murmurs: “we must pretend we believe their story. I wouldn’t want them to scheme up some other nasty plot”, Spiros agrees: “and we want the paperwork by the consul to be processed so that Basil can be persecuted”. They reach their usual rock in the woods. They sit on it and continue talking, Louisa sounds very serious now: “I wonder how far those 3 are prepared to push this farce. Will they allow us to go ahead with our Greek wedding? Will they tell us that I am married to Hugh? This is what they now think, after all…”, “and I wonder whether they have some other plans now that they think they got you married to Hugh. How will they take you away from me?”, she looks very scared now: “I love you so much, Spiro, I can’t even contemplate that thought”, she is crying now, “will they force me back to England? How?”, Spiros hugs and kisses her: “whatever their plan, I won’t let that happen. I will be always with you, my love. We also need to talk to your children. We need a plan that involves them too, Louisa nods: “and I wonder whether Hugh knows this is happening. Is this why he went back to England? This all seems so unreal…”.
  * After lunch, Louisa smiles: “children, this morning Basil and Geoffrey took a walk and fell in love with our beautiful island”, Gerry looks happy: “I am not surprised, there are so many interesting animals”, Margot smirks: “which you only notice brother. It’s the scenery that is so captivating. Sunrises on this side of Corfu are especially beautiful”, Basil nods: “yes, it was early morning and the light was really very nice. We had a very long walk”, Louisa acts disappointed: “oh you must be tired, then. That’s too bad. I was going to suggest that we all go on a very, very, long walk” she looks at her cousins: “there is a beautiful path, back there. It is a few miles long, up a very steep hill. It is quite tiring but the view from the top is worth the effort. Would you like to join us all on that walk?”, Prue refuses: “maybe later cousin, it doesn’t sound like something one would want to do with a full stomach”, Larry realizes this is just an excuse to leave the house together: “yes mother, the last time we did that walk we were all very tired in the evening, but the view of the coastline was beautiful. I will go with you, if you don’t mind”, then he turns, giving his back to the cousins, he winks at his siblings: “and so should you, siblings. You are all putting on weight, lately”, Leslie laughs: “it’s mother’s and Spiro’s fault. When they cook together the results are too good”. They all laugh. Spiros, hugs Louisa and looks at her lovingly: “it’s because we put so much love in everything we do together”, Margot smiles: “always very romantic, Spiro!”, he looks at Louisa sweetly: “it’s your mother’s fault. She is just too lovely”, they all smile, Louisa blushes as she smiles at him sweetly. Spiros kisses her tenderly: “we should get going, while the weather is still nice. Those clouds seem to be moving quickly. They may bring rain later”. Louisa looks at her children: “let’s all go, then, children”. At this point all of the children have guessed that their mother and Spiros want them to go with them, so they all get up and join the walk.
  * They walk to the same place where one happy day several months earlier they had their conversation about true love. As they walk, they make sure nobody is following them. At the top of the hill, they all sit on rocks, then Spiros and Louisa tell her children about her cousins’ plot. The children are very angry at first. Margot speaks first, really upset: “this is unacceptable, we should have kicked them out of our house last night!”, Gerry looks at Spiros: “yes, I don’t understand why you took their side. They may be family, but this is not what family members do to each other!”, Leslie is quite angry: “not at all. When we get back I will personally make sure they leave and I will also make sure those two men have a black eye each when that happens”. Larry, Louisa, and Spiros just sit quietly and let them vent their anger for a while. Then, Louisa speaks: “your anger is very understandable. Last night I was very angry too, but Spiro was right. If we kick them out, we won’t know what else they may scheme up. We need to keep an eye on them, and the best way is that of having them in the house with us”, Spiros nods: “and if we kicked them out today, they’d find out that their latest plot has not worked. What else are they prepared to do? That’s what I wonder and that’s what scares me, frankly”. 
  * Larry has been sitting quietly, thinking: “even if they don’t find out, I wonder what their _current_ plans are. How do they think they can bring mother to Hugh?”, Margot tries a guess: “maybe they will just wait for her to be evacuated to England by the war?”, Leslie adds: “or will they force her somehow?”. Louisa sounds worried now: “I cannot possibly phantom what they are up to”, she looks at Spiros who is sitting right next to her, his arm around the small of her back, then she continues: “this is all so scary”, he hugs her tightly in a protective embrace, bringing her really close to him. Leslie speaks forcefully: “we should talk to the police”, Larry nods: “maybe, but I suspect they won’t be able to do much. We have very little evidence that they are scheming anything illegal, really. Just a forged signature. Not enough for police protection, I am afraid”, Leslie continues: “then we need to make a plan amongst ourselves. We must make sure you are never, ever, left alone, mother”, Spiros is still hugging her: “I will stop working again. I will always be by your side, love”, Larry nods: “and we will take turns to make sure there are at least two more persons with you at all times”, Leslie adds: “and I will have my guns loaded, ready to defend you, mother”, “for once I must agree with that idea, darling. Thank you all very much for your support. I feel much safer now”. Spiros hugs her again and kisses her: “they will have to walk over my dead body before they take you away from me, my love”, she looks at him with scared expression and replies sounding very upset: “don’t you say that, love. It is a truly terrifying though!”. They hug again. 
  * Larry continues: “we should also try to find out what the scheme is. That would help a lot”, Margot agrees: “yes we need to listen in on their conversations”, Gerry proposes: “we should allow them to think they are on their own, then listen in”, Leslie adds: “maybe encourage them to go on walks, then find excuses for not going with them and follow them on alternate paths”, Margot adds: “or pretend to leave them alone in a room, then listen in from the room next door. Spiros nods: “all good ideas. Let’s go back to the house now. I don’t like that they are there by themselves for too long. I really don’t trust those 3”

  * Meanwhile, the wedding plans continue. The next day Spiros and Louisa go to the countess. As per their protection plans, Gerry and Leslie go with them. Leslie even carries one of his guns. They sit outside, with the excuse that Gerry wants to look at the countess’ goldfishes. The countess smiles: “you can look at them as much as you like, Gerry. And the two of you can join us for tea any time, if you wish. Just walk in when you are done with your naturalistic observations”. Spiros and Louisa sit side by side on their usual sofa. The countess smiles: “my darlings everything is going as planned. The gardens are being prepared for the celebrations and all arrangements for flower decorations of the church are complete”, Spiros smiles: “thank you so much, countess”, Louisa continues: “and letters are coming in. Several of my relatives and friends are coming for the wedding”, she has a big smile and looks very happy. The countess and Spiros can see that. He puts his arm around her shoulders and gives her a loving kiss: “yes our wedding will be very international”, the countess smiles sweetly: “I am very happy for you Louisa, you are obviously very loved”, she blushes: “well, several people cannot come”, Spiros looks at her sweetly: “that’s understandable. Corfu is very far and making traveling plans with this looming war is certainly not easy”, she smiles at him: “I know”, he leans in and kisses her again. In that moment Gerry and Leslie walk in, Gerry laughs: “those two, always smooching!”, Spiros looks at him with a big happy smile: “yes, always, and proudly so! You should be used to it by now, Gerry!”, then he looks at Louisa sweetly and they kiss again.
  * The countess smiles and looks at Gerry and Leslie: “sit down my dears, join us for tea!”, Dennis pours tea for them and hands them a tray full of biscuits. Gerry and Leslie help themselves: “thank you!”. Meanwhile Spiros and Louisa have stopped kissing. The countess smiles: “there is one more thing we need to finalize for your wedding; the food”, Leslie smiles happily: “indeed, the most important thing!”, Louisa chuckles: “yes, always very high in your list of life priorities, son”, they all laugh, then Spiros continues: “my friend Petro, who owns the taverna in town, says he can make anything we wish”, Louisa smiles: “before we knew the reception was going to be here, we met with him and we chose a menu. Now we should make sure it works for this location”, the countess smiles: “coincidentally, I have talked to him too. He said he can come here tomorrow to discuss various options. Can the two of you come by in the afternoon?”, Louisa nods: “yes that works”, “excellent, tomorrow be, then”. The countess continues: there is one last thing we need to finalize, my dears; the music”, Spiros smiles: “I have already taken care of that. The band that played at our parties will be here”, the countess is happy: “excellent, they are good players”, Gerry smirks: “very organized about the entertainment, eh Spiro?”, Leslie chuckles: “the most important thing for you!”, they all laugh, Spiros looks at Louisa very lovingly: “not at all, Leslie, the most important thing is sitting right here”, she smiles sweetly at him, they kiss. Gerry smiles: “toujours très romantique”, the countess smiles: “oui toujours” Spiros looks at Gerry smiling: “l’amour pour ta mère est ma priorité!”, and he kisses Louisa again.

(trnsl: always very romantic; yes, always; love for your mother is my priority)

  * Louisa looks at Spiros: “you seem to speak more French than you like to admit, love”, he makes a naughty smile: “of course, so that I can listen in when you and your children talk behind my back”, they laugh, Louisa acts offended: “we’d never!”, he looks at her lovingly: “I know, but just in case…”, he makes a silly laugh. The countess switches to her mother tongue: “si je parle français, peut tu dire ce que je dis, mon ami?”, Spiros smiles: “oui, j'ai un peu de français parce qu'il ressemble à l'italien”, Louisa looks surprised: “can you speak Italian?”, Gerry laughs: “he must have learned it when he was so jealous of Mr. Ferrari!”, he makes a funny smirk: “me jealous?”, Leslie laughs: “are you denying it, Spiro?”, Gerry chuckles: “yes you were terrified that mother would end up with him”, Louisa laughs: “so true, you even gave him lots of money!”, Spiros laughs: “fine, fine, I’ll admit it. I was worried you and him would become very close. He seemed so perfect for you”, Louisa smiles sweetly at him: “I have never even thought about him in those terms. He was so not my type! Way too arrogant. And it was clear that he was hiding something”, Leslie nods: “and he was way too interested in aunt Hermione’s inheritance”, Spiros smiles: “well, I made sure he stayed away from you.”, they all laugh. The countess looks amused: “I did not know that story!”, Gerry smirks: “yea, a shady story of love, money, and intrigue, with Mr. Halikiopoulos and Mr. Ferrari as the protagonists”, Leslie adds: “and mother as the contended princess”, they all laugh.

(trnsl: if I speak French can you understand me?; yes, I understand a bit of French because it is similar to Italian)

  * Louisa looks at Spiro: “seriously, how do you know Italian, love?”, Spiros smiles: “I learned it from my parents and grandparents, as well as in school. Most Corfiots speak Italian. Since the Venetian occupation, the Italian cultural influence has been strong here. There even still is a village where people only speak Italian”, the countess smiles: “bene, allora possiamo parlare Italiano”, Spiro replies: “certamente, contessa, tutte le volte che vogliamo che i Durrells non ci capiscano”, the countess laughs. Louisa looks at them perplexed: “I have no idea what you’ve just said”, Gerry smirks: “Spiro said our surname. I hope it wasn’t too nasty”, Leslie smiles: “it probably was, that’s why they spoke Italian”, the countess laughs: “not nasty at all”, Spiros smiles: “you speak it very well, countess”, “of course, it is similar to French!”, “it is, but that was too perfect, you must have learned the grammar too”, “yes, when I was a child. My parents really valued languages and all of us, children, took lessons in Italian, English, and German with mother tongue tutors”, Louisa sounds disappointed: “and all I learned was Hindi and a bit of French!”, he looks at her lovingly: “and Greek, now”, she smiles at him very sweetly: “nai agapi mou, tora ellinika ine poly’ simantika sti zoi’ mou’”, they kiss, Gerry smirks: “every excuse is good for a smooch!”, they all laugh.

(trnsl from Italian: good, then we can speak Italian; certainly, countess, whenever we want the Durrells not to understand us). (trnsl from Greek: yes my love, now Greek is very important in my life)

  * Spiros sits back and becomes serious: “I hate to interrupt this happy moment, but we have news we should share with our good friend, the countess”, Louisa looks at him: “I agree, she should know”, the children nod. Spiros continues: “you may have wondered why Leslie and Gerry came with us today”, the countess smirks: “so that Gerry could look at my goldfishes, hopefully without stealing any this time?”, they all laugh, Gerry looks very contrite and blushed: “I am so sorry…”, the countess smiles sweetly at him: “I am sorry for bringing it up, Gerry. It’s in the past now. You did apologize back then. So why are the two of you here, then?”, Louisa explains: “for my protection”, the countess looks very puzzled now. They tell her about Louisa’s cousins. The countess looks really surprised and very worried: “that is quite the story!”, Leslie nods: “yes, that’s why I have my gun with me. It’s actually loaded”, the countess remarks: “well, in this situation that is actually a good idea”, then she turns towards Spiros and Louisa: “you should not go back home. You should stay here. I will protect you. I will hire private guards”, Louisa looks at her sweetly: “I really appreciate your offer, countess, but we are trying to act very normally with my cousins, hoping to find out what their scheme is”, Spiros adds: “and to give the consul time to receive the results of the calligraphy assessment so that Basil can pay for his crime”, Gerry explains: “he will lose his license to practice law”, the countess comments: “the bogus marriage license is bad, however it’s their plot to get your mother to Hugh that really concerns me”, Spiros and Louisa are hugging now, looking scared. Leslie speaks confidently: “we will protect mother until we find out what the plot is”, the countess is very serious now: “well, do keep me informed of any developments, please, and keep in mind that you can always come here. Any time”, Spiros smiles: “thank you very much countess”, Louisa nods: “we should return home, now”, Spiros agrees: “yes, I don’t like it when they are alone for too long. I always wonder what else they may be plotting behind out backs”, Gerry smirks: “don’t worry, Spiro, they are not alone, Larry was with them”, Leslie adds: “chatting them up”, Louisa smiles: “oh then they are still talking!”, Gerry chuckles: “yea, I almost feel bad for them!”, they laugh, then they all hug the countess and go home.

  * A few days later. March 1st. Spiros, Leslie, and Margot are at the house with Louisa, following their protection plan. Larry is in town for groceries. Gerry is in the woods for his naturalistic errands. He is moving very quietly, trying to approach a rabbit without being noticed. Suddenly, he sees Prue, Geoffrey, and Basil, hidden behind a large bush, talking. He manages to sneak up on them without being seen and listens to their conversation, squatted behind a bush. Prue is speaking: “I can confirm it, today is their monthly dinner out. The tavern owner has told me that they always dine out alone on the first of the month”, Geoffrey sounds happy: “it is the opportunity we were waiting for. Finally. It will be easy to knock Spiro out in one of those small allays and get her”, “Basil agrees: “I will cable our Albanian friends, then”, Prue interjects with stern voice: “don’t call them friends, son. They are criminals”, Geoffrey nods: “and they know what they do. Apparently, kidnapping is their specialty”, Prue seems unsure: “I am still not sure I understand how they will get her all the way to England”, Basil explains: “they have a cart with horses. They will use some of their drug concoctions to keep her sedated most of the time. They will travel by land through Albania, the Balkans, Germany, and the Netherlands. They will then smuggle her to the east coast of England with a boat”, Geoffrey continues: “they have tight connections with the underground crime in those countries. Nobody will be able to find them”, Prue replies: “Spiro will try hard. He is very in love with her”, Geoffrey adds: “and so will her children”, Basil sounds confident: “there is no way they can find them. It’d involve too many countries and police forces”, Prue smiles: “by the time she gets to England it will be many weeks, possibly months, and she will have overcome this silly infatuation for Spiro. She will agree that being married to Hugh is in her best interest. Hugh will be happy to take her in and finally have his way with her. Then we will let her children know that she was found and they will happily join her”, Basil laughs: “and leave Spiros Amerikanos on his island, longing for his English lover”. They all laugh. Geoffrey speaks sternly: “he has already had way more fun with her then he ever should”, Basil adds: “we will need to play our parts very well”, Prue agrees: “yes of the very distraught relatives”. They laugh again. They get up and walk back towards the house. 

  * Gerry has heard everything and is horrified. As soon as the cousins are out of sight he gets up and runs home via a different path. Good thing that thanks to his naturalistic errands he knows them very well. He runs as fast as he can. He gets home well before the cousins. Margot, Leslie, Louisa, and Spiros are having tea, sitting at the table of the veranda. Gerry’s face is very flustered and his breathing very fast. He gesticulates at them franticly, but he can’t talk. He is completely out of breath. Louisa scolds him with stern voice: “Gerry, what were you thinking, running like that?”, Spiros realizes something very serious is going on: “let’s all leave the house now”, Gerry, panting very hard, utters: “quickly, please”. Leslie grabs his guns and they all run to the car. They drive away. Just in time. The cousins approach the house as the car reaches the end of the driveway. They drive to town and find even Larry there. They sit in the car. Gerry tells them what he has heard. They are all shocked. Spiros and Louisa hug tightly. They look terrified. The children look terrified too.
  * Leslie speaks first: “we can’t deal with this alone, we need to go to the police”. They all drive to the nearby police station. The superintendent greets them smiling: “Mr. and Mrs. Halikiopoulos, come in, please”, they look surprised, “we haven’t told people we are married”, “I have seen the paperwork about your wedding at the British consulate. It has been circulated to all Greek authorities, congratulations”, Spiros nods: “thank you, but we are here for a much more serious reason”. They explain their story. “This sounds absurd. You have no evidence. For what I know it may be the fervid imagination of a minor who has sat in the sun for too long”, Gerry looks upset: “I have heard them talk about their plan. I swear, I’d never make this up!”, Leslie intercedes: “my brother is not telling lies. This is all true. We need your help, superintendent, please”, the superintendent thinks for a while: “very well, I will believe you, even because of your past as a policeman, Leslie. Mr. and Mrs. Halikiopoulos, we will put you under police protection. We can put policemen all around your house, but it would be preferable if we could hide you in some other safe house, and organize the police protection there”, Leslie agrees: “yes, and let our relatives go ahead with their plan so that you can arrest them all”, the superintendent smiles: “that’s exactly what I was thinking, Leslie. You would have made a good policeman”, he smiles: “I would have loved to”, the superintendent asks: “do you have good friends who’d hide you and allow several policemen in their house?”. Spiros and Louisa look at each other and speak at the same time: “doctor Mavrodaki”, Margot smiles: “good idea, she will hate having the policemen in her house but she’d do anything for the two of you”, the superintendent adds: “and her house is perfect for the purpose. It is easy to protect because it is not attached to other houses”. Margot gets up: “I will go and talk to her”, the superintendent turns towards a policeman: “drive her to the Mavrodaki house, please”.
  * Then the superintendent lays out the rest of the plan: “the rest of you should go home and act very normally”, Larry nods: “we will just tell them that Spiro and mother have stayed in town to see friends before their romantic candle light dinner at the taverna”, Gerry agrees: “that’s very plausible. They will believe it”, the superintendent continues: “we can have a policeman and an actress sit at the taverna, wearing your clothes. Those Albanians don’t know you personally, so they will believe it is you. Then, we will have serval policemen in regular clothes scattered around the taverna and the whole of Corfu’ town. We will catch them”, Leslie smiles: “such a great plan, I am sure it will work. Thank you very much superintendent. We really appreciate your help”. Margot returns: “the countess has agreed to shelter you at her house. She is very worried about you”. The children drive back home to play their part, Louisa sounds worried: “be careful!”, the superintendent reassures her: “they will be fine. They are not the target of this plot and I have already placed several policemen in the woods around your house, Mrs. Halikiopoulou”, he looks at her sweetly, reminiscing of his past aspirations on her. Spiros notices that and smiles: “thank you very much for your help, superintendent”, then he takes her hand in his, she responds grasping his hand with hers and looking at him with a sweet smile.

  * Spiros, Louisa, and several policemen go to the countess’ house. She and Dennis are waiting for them at the door. She lends them clothes so that the policemen can take the clothes they are wearing, to use for their plan. They change in the room where they did the re-enactment protocol: “this dress is so pretty”, he looks at her with loving gaze: “and you look so beautiful in it, my love! It makes me want to make love to you right now, on ‘our’ bed here”, she smiles: “not quite the circumstances for that, love”, he hugs her: “I know… not quite the celebration we had in mind for our 9th happy month together”. They hug and kiss, then they exit the bedroom. Two policemen are waiting outside of the bedroom door, three more are in the living room, and eight more are outside, around the house. Louisa and Spiros walk into the living room. The countess greets them smiling: “that dress looks so good on you, Louisa, you should keep it!”. Spiros looks at her sweetly: “yes, you look very beautiful, my love”, the policemen are also looking at her with very appreciative gazes. Louisa blushes. Spiros hugs her and whispers in her ear: “so sorry, my love, men often do that in Greece. They don’t mean bad. In their mind it’s actually a compliment to your beauty”.
  * The countess talks to her butler: “Dennis, can you please make dinner for everyone?”, a policeman interjects: “thank you, countess, but we are not allowed to sit and eat dinner, while on guard”, Dennis offers: “maybe I can prepare dinner for you and your guests and sandwiches for our policeman friends?”, the countess smiles: “excellent idea, Dennis, thank you”. 

  * The Durrell children drive back to the house. Prue asks: “where are your mother and Spiro?”, Larry replies: “in town, visiting friends. They will go directly to the taverna after that”, Prue pretends she does not know: “taverna? Aren’t they dining with us?”, Larry answers: “they will be on a date dinner alone”, Gerry smiles: “they like to celebrate the monthly recurrence of their first day of love”, Leslie adds: “the first of every month”, Margot makes a sweet smile: “they are always very romantic”, Geoffrey grumbles: “I don’t see what’s so romantic about celebrating a sinful relationship”, Prue smiles: “but they are in love, Geoffrey, it’s nice they’d celebrate it. I am sure they wore their special clothes for tonight’s dinner”, Margot guesses that Prue is trying to learn what they are wearing so that they can let the Albanians know, she answers: “they usually don’t truly dress up, but they do wear some of their nicer clothes. For example, tonight mother was wearing her pretty blue skirt with a white blouse and Spiro his black dress Jacket”. Prue, Geoffrey, and Basil look at each other, smiling, Basil smiles: “well, good for them. I am sure they will enjoy their date. Mother, father, why don’t we go for a short walk before dinner? The sunset on Corfu is as nice as the sunrise”, Margot smiles: “yes you should enjoy it. We will make dinner and it will be ready when you return”. The cousins leave. 
  * Once they are out of sight, Larry smirks: “off to their Albanian friends…”, Leslie looks at his sister proudly: “Margot, I loved how you told them about mother’s and Spiro’s clothes”, Larry nods: “yes, that was brilliant!”, Gerry adds: “you would make a good policewoman”, Leslie makes a sad smile: “those are not allowed in Greece, but I am sure one day they will”, Margot nods: “and women will have equal rights to men”, Larry adds: “so they should!”. Leslie agrees: “indeed…”, Gerry remarks: “let’s make dinner now, so that our beloved relatives won’t suspect anything”, Margot makes a wicked smile: “how about some really spicy Indian curries?”, Larry smirks naughtily: “brilliant, they hate spicy food!”. They all laugh.
  * Later, Prue, Geoffrey, and Basil return to the house and they all have dinner together, sitting at the kitchen table. The cousins keep drinking lots of water and eating lots of bread. Prue looks all flustered: “this is very hot!”, Margot replies with apologetic voice: “I am so sorry, Prue, we followed an Indian recipe from mother’s cookbook and we did not realize it was going to be so spicy”, Gerry smirks: “here, have some more bread”, Leslie picks up the jug: “and water”, he pours them some. They all eat quietly. They don’t talk very much. They are all waiting for the outcome of the evening. Basil keeps checking his watch. He is following the events in his mind. The kidnapping, the boat crossing over to Albania, the cart with a drugged Louisa departing on its long trip northwards. 
  * There is a knock on the door. Larry pretends to be surprised: “I wonder who this is. It is too early for our lovebirds to be back”. He gets up to answer it. The others remain seated. He opens the door partly, while covering it with his body. The cousins cannot see the several armed policemen standing outside. The superintendent asks: “may we come in, Mr. Durrell?”, Larry replies politely: “of course, be our guests”. Larry opens the door wide and steps aside. The policemen rush in and very quickly immobilize and handcuff Geoffrey, Basil, and Prue. They hardly have the time to realize it is happening. The superintendent looks at them sternly: “I am arresting you as the senders of tonight’s attempted kidnapping of your cousin Louisa Florence Emily Halikiopoulou. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say may be used against you in court”. The cousins look stunned. Prue screams: “this is madness, what are you talking about?”. Basil sounds perplexed: “Halikiopoulou?”, Larry makes a smug smirk: “yes, by British law, more than 3 months ago. Well before your bogus license with the forged signature, Basil”. The superintendent orders: “men, take them to jail”.

  * At the countess’ house. They are having dinner. They are all rather tense, waiting to learn about the police blitz. They don’t need to wait long. As they finish dinner there is a knock on the door. They all get up. Their guarding policemen carefully open the door with their guns out. It is the superintendent: “I have good news. The ambush has worked very well. We have caught the Albanians while they were trying to attack our man and woman. They have confessed the plot and named the senders. Prue, Geoffrey, and Basil have been arrested”, Louisa sounds worried: “how are my children?”, “they are all fine, Mrs. Halikiopoulou. They have played their part very well”.
  * Spiros hugs Louisa: “what a relief! You are safe now, my love. Nobody will try to take you away”, Louisa happily hides in his arms, and hugs him back, her head in the crook of his neck. He kisses her hair. She raises her head up and smiles at him sweetly. They kiss softly. The countess smiles: “you should go home to your children, now. You need a family celebration!”, the superintendent smiles: “we can drive you home with a police automobile”, Louisa hugs the countess: “thank you so much for your support! We will wash and return these clothes soon”, “I was serious earlier, Louisa, you should keep that dress. You look really nice in it. And you should keep those clothes too, Spiro. They fit you very well and you look good in them. They were my husband’s and I wouldn’t want anybody else to have them”. Spiros hugs the countess too: “thank you, countess. That you would say that means a lot to me”. Then Spiros and Louisa walk to the police car, their arms around each other’s back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, this turned out way darker than I had originally intended. I promise I will 'resolve' it quickly and move on to more fun stuff. E.g. a wedding and a honeymoon... :-)


	30. Wedding guests arrive in Corfu

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 9th month date - delayed by a day.  
With the wedding approaching, more of Louisa's relatives arrive in Corfu. Good thing these are nice...

  * The next day (Thursday), Louisa and Sprios drive to town together. They go to Alecko’s office. “I expected you my friends. I have heard of yesterday’s events. The whole town is talking about them. Let’s go for coffee together and we can talk”. They walk to the coffee bar in town and order coffees. Alecko looks at Louisa: “do you have any ideas what your relatives’ motive might have been?”, she sounds unsure: “I don’t know. I know that they did not want me to marry Spiro. They thought he was not good enough for our family. They tried to dissuade me several times before resorting to that plot”. Alecko sits back and thinks for a bit: “that seems an unlikely motive for such a crime. Kidnapping carries very severe sentences. Basil is a lawyer. He knows that. It seems unlikely he’d go to that extent just for the family’s name. Can’t you think of any other reasons? Money maybe?”, “oh that seems very unlikely. The only money I have is the compensation from Hugh’s trial. I have very little money of my own. My first husband’s inheritance is all but gone by now and my aunt Hermione’s inheritance was all lost on the stock market”, Alecko thinks some more: “can you think of other possible motives?”, “I can’t really. I just can’t make sense of all of this”, her voice is shaky now. Spiros reaches for her hand and holds it. Alecko nods: “this morning the superintendent has told me that he has cabled the British and Albanian authorities and they will conduct a joint investigation. They may find the motive, but I will also conduct some investigations, to help”, Spiros smiles: “thank you so much my friend”, “I am happy to help, of course”, then he opens his briefcase and takes out some papers: “I’d need you to sign these, Louisa, to give me authority to seek information on your behalf. I will need to contact the British consul about this. Even if he knows me and he knows we are friends he would not disclose information about you without your consent”, Louisa signs the paper and smiles at him: “of course, I consent. Thank you so much for your help Alecko”, he smiles at her: “happy to help the woman who makes my old friend so obviously happy”, Spiros smiles at Louisa sweetly: “yes, very happy”, he leans in and kisses her tenderly. Alecko smiles, then passes the same form to Spiros: “you should sign it too, my friend, so that I can represent you both at the trial and collect the needed documentation even for you”, Spiros smiles: “of course!”. Alecko gets up: “I’d better get moving on this. I suspect the trial will be accelerated, to bring those dangerous criminals to justice before they bribe their way out of jail. The British judge is still quite upset about Hugh’s escape. I am sure he will take care of this trial personally”, Louisa smiles: “well I am happy about that. He is a very nice man”, Alecko nods: “and honest and fair, I am sure he will give your relatives the sentence they deserve”.

  * That evening, the children are all in the kitchen. Gerry is at the cooker, stirring food in a frying pan. Margot walks there and helps him: “mmm that smells very good! Thank you for making dinner, brother”, he smiles at her: “not a problem. I do like cooking”, Larry smirks: “differently from me”, Leslie adds: “and me!”, Gerry laughs: “I know, and I wouldn’t dare to eat any of your cooking, anyway”, Larry and Leslie both look sulking now. Margot chuckles: “neither would I!”, Gerry smirks: “well it means you will do the clean up afterwards, brothers”, Larry agrees: “fair enough!”, Leslie smiles: “deal!”. In that moment Spiros and Louisa enter the kitchen. They are both dressed up. Louisa is wearing the sexy dress she wore on New Year’s Eve, her hair and make up nicely done, and Spiros is wearing his suit, including a tie, his hair styled with brill cream. Margot smiles: “you both look wonderful for your 9th monthly date dinner”, Spiros smiles: “well, after yesterday’s events, we have a lot to celebrate”, then he smiles at Louisa lovingly and grabs her hand: “let’s go my beauty”, she smiles at him sweetly: “yes, my handsome date”. They leave the house hand in hand. His fingers interlaced with hers. They drive to town, park by the main square, and walk to the taverna, his arm around her shoulders, hers behind the small of his back. Several men turn their heads to look at Louisa very appreciatively. Feeling rather embarrassed, she looks towards Spiros. She smiles sweetly when she notices that he is looking very proud. She continues walking. Happy to be with her man and to look beautiful for him.
  * They sit at a quiet table in a corner of the taverna’s patio. The taverna’s owner approaches: “you are a day late, this month, my friends”, Spiros smiles: “then we need to celebrate for one extra day, Petro”, “of course you should, after yesterday’s events”, Louisa smiles: “indeed!”, they order the nicest items on the menu. Petro walks back to the kitchen and places the orders, then he returns to their table with an ice bucket with a bottle of champagne: “this is on the house, to celebrate the happy outcome of your ordeal”, Louisa smiles: “efcharisto’ para poly’, Petro. Yes, that was quite the ordeal”, she shrugs, Spiros reaches for her hand on the table and smiles at her lovingly: “but it is over now, my love, and we are here to relax”, she looks at him with a sweet smile: “I know”, he stares into her eyes lovingly: “and it’s our celebration of 9 months and 1 day of happiness together”, she looks at him with loving eyes: “a true bliss” they lean towards each other and kiss. Petro smiles and walks back to the kitchen.

(*trnsl: efcharisto’ = thank you; para poly’ = very much)

  * After dinner, they take a long walk in the city center, across the main square, down several narrow winding roads. They enjoy their time alone, talking, giggling, and flirting lightly, with no concerns in their minds. They stop at a small square with a lookout over the sea. They enjoy the beautiful view over the Corfu and Albanian coastlines. Then he turns towards her and wraps his arms around her. She hugs him back. They look into each other’s eyes very, very, lovingly. They kiss. A long kiss. People walk by and see that. Some look disapproving of such public display of their love. Others look at them sweetly. No-one is surprised. Everybody knows they are a loving couple and yesterday’s attempted kidnapping has been the talk of town all day long.
  * When they get home, the children are sitting in the living room, reading books and their post. Spiros and Louisa walk in and stand by the door. Margot greets them: “welcome back, lovebirds, hope you had a good date”, Spiros makes a big happy smile: “excellent, Margot, a tasty meal and a relaxing and romantic evening”, Louisa smiles: “yes, very nice. I feel a bit tipsy now, though”, she leans her head against his shoulder, he puts his arm around the small of her back and smiles at her sweetly: “well, we did finish that bottle of champagne between the two of us”, Larry smirks: “then no wonder you are tipsy now, mother”, she smiles, grabs Spiros’ hand and drags him upstairs: “good night children”, “good night!”, Leslie chuckles: “that was not very subtle!”, they laugh, Margot smiles: “well, they don’t need to, do they? It’s not that they think we don’t know…”

  * In their bedroom Louisa and Spiros are standing on the rug by the bed. He reaches for her waist and gently pulls her towards him. He gives her a soft and loving kiss. She reaches for his necktie and removes it. Then, she pulls his suspenders down, undoes his shirt’s button, and pushes it off his bust. She sinks her face in his chest: “mmm you smell good, my love”, “it must be the cologne”, “no, it’s just _you_”, he sounds puzzled: “do you mean my sweat?”, she smiles sweetly: “no, your own unique smell. My Spiro’s smell. I could recognize it in a million”, he looks amused now: “what do you mean with ‘Spiro’s smell’?”, she hugs him tightly with her head on his chest, inhaling: “it is a sweet mix of Corfu’s fruits and flowers”, he is even more amused now. Still with her face in his chest, she continues: “and car oil, you smell of that too”, he laughs. Then he makes a naughty smile, wraps his arms around her and kisses the crook of her neck, near her collarbones. She makes a happy groan, “you smell good too, my love. A very sweet scent”. While kissing her neck, he applies a small suck: “mmm you taste very sweet too”, she giggles: “are you leaving a love mark on me, love?”, he smiles naughtily: “maybe…”, then he wraps his arms around her, reaches behind her, and undoes the buttons of her dress, one by one, all along her back. Then he puts his hands on her bare skin, lightly caressing her back with his fingernails. She shivers and makes a light gasp. Then he reaches lower down, under her underwear and wraps his hands around her buttocks, pulling her body towards his: “you are so sexy, my love”. She can feel his erection through their clothes. She reaches for his waist and removes his belt. Then she undoes his trousers’ buttons and reaches inside. She begins moving her hand on him, applying a light pressure with her fingers, all along his length, slowly. Now it is his turn to moan, his breath getting shorter and shorter. As he enjoys her doing that, he continues touching and kissing her bare skin under the dress and eating away at her neck with loving kisses and gentle sucks.
  * He steps back and helps her out of her dress. Under it, she is wearing the sexy lingerie and garter her children gave to Spiros as a birthday gift last September. He murmurs: “gosh that is so sexy, my love”, he turns around and puts the dress on a chair. As he is doing that, she reaches for him from behind and pushes his trousers and underwear to the floor. He is completely naked now, still with his back towards her. She hugs him from behind, her hands on his chest, rubbing herself against his buttocks: “mmm you are very sexy too, my love”, he turns around, hugs her, reaches behind her back, and undoes her bra’s claps. He removes it and throws it on a side. He leans forward and kisses her breasts. He sucks on her nipples: “mmm these taste very good too”, and he continues with gentle sucks for a while. Her nipples turn very hard, she moans. He kneels on the rug. With his warm hands he removes her knickers. His head in front of her pelvis. He reaches forward and puts his face in her hair: “this smells very sweet too”, she giggles. He reaches for her clitoris with his tongue. She gasps. He keeps doing that, while lightly stroking her body with his hands. Then he grabs her buttocks and gently pushes her closer to his face. Reaching deeper with his mouth, he begins sucking on her love bud. She moans heavily and her legs begin giving way. He leans her gently on the bed, opens her thighs, still cladded with the sexy thigh-high stockings held up by the garter, and puts his head deep between her legs. He licks her sex: “and this tastes heavenly”, she is moaning so deeply now that she can hardly speak, she whispers: “I am the one in heaven, right now”, he makes a smile onto her sex and bites her lightly: “mmm… my beloved honeypot”. She feels that and giggles, while panting heavily. He continues stimulating her with his tongue while gently massaging her clitoris with his fingers. She has her hands on his head now, her fingers entangled in his hair. Her moans are very, very, deep. Her breath short, her thighs holding onto his head. He lifts his head up lightly, and moves to sucking her clitoris again, while inserting two fingers in her. He moves them the way he knows she likes, rubbing onto her G spot. She gasps and reaches climax with very deep sighs. He feels her contract on his fingers. He continues stimulating her gently until she comes down from her high and relaxes on the bed. He lays next to her. She opens her eyes and looks at him. He is looking at her with very loving eyes: “I love you, my sweet honeypot”, she smiles sweetly at him: “and I love you!”, “9 happy months of love!”, “yes, very happy, Spiro, heavenly”, they kiss tenderly.
  * He lays next to her, covering her with loving kisses. Then he begins touching her again, caressing her body lightly. She reaches for him with her hand and moves it along his hard erection. They exchange long sensual kisses. He is really very aroused now. He reaches for her sex with his fingers. He can feel she is ready again. He moves over her. She opens her legs and receives him. He enters her and moves on her slowly at first, then more and more quickly, thrusting deeper and deeper. They both moan heavily until they come together, with very synchronized deep sighs. Then they lay on the bed, hugging tenderly. They fall asleep, their naked bodies entangled into each other.

  * The following morning (Friday, March 3rd) she wakes up first. She remains quiet and still, to avoid waking him. She looks at his beautiful sleeping face, feeling full of love for him. After a few minutes he opens his eyes and sees her: “good morning, my love”, she reaches for his lips: “good morning, man of my dreams”, he smiles sweetly: “that was very romantic”, she smiles too: “_you_ make me romantic, my Greek Eros”, he hugs her: “never as much as my sweet Aphrodite”. They giggle. She snuggles up in his arms. They stay in bed for a while, cuddling and cooing very lovingly.
  * When they finally enter the kitchen, the children are all up, having their breakfast. Margot s greets them: “Mr. and Mrs. Halikiopoulos, this telegram has just arrived for you from the consulate”, Larry chuckles: “if he keeps using your married name that _secret_ marriage will be not so secret soon. The postman is a known gossip”, Spiros laughs: “oh that is so true, Larry!”. Louisa opens the telegram. Spiros, next to her, reads it aloud: “meet up Tuesday 11AM? News for you”, Louisa guesses: “it must be the result of the calligraphic assessment”, Spiros smiles: “perfect timing. It can be used as evidence at the trial”.
  * After breakfast, Louisa smiles: “well, it’s time to prepare our guest rooms. Aunt Patience, aunt Prudence, and JeeJee will arrive this evening and they are the first of a series of guests”, she gets up and turns towards her family: “help would be appreciated”, Spiros gets up, hugs her, and kisses her cheek: “always happy to, my love”, she smiles at him sweetly: “thank you love”, then she looks at her children with a smirk: “any more volunteers?”, Margot smirks: “sorry, mother, I have to work this morning”, Leslie adds: “so do I!”, Gerry smirks: “and I have my lesson with Mr. Kralefsky”, Louisa looks at her children with stern gaze, stopping on Larry. Trapped, he makes a tight smile: “fine, fine, I’ll help”, she laughs: “such enthusiastic response, son!”, Spiros looks at Margot: “you can take the car. It looks like I will be busy here, this morning. We will only need it later to pick up our guests at the Corfu Town port”, Margot grabs the key: “thank you!”, Margo, Leslie, and Gerry leave, with Margot driving.
  * Still sitting at the kitchen table, Larry turns towards Louisa and makes one of his smug smirks: “I’d wear a turtleneck today, mother. That hickey is very visible. You don’t want to give a bad impression to our aunts”. She looks up, surprised and very blushed, Spiros giggles, she touches her neck and laughs: “oh, I will”, she gets up and goes to their bedroom to change. Spiros gets up and begins clearing the breakfast plates, still giggling. Larry winks at him, then he picks up a bucket: “I will fill this with water and soap, to wash the floors”.
  * A couple of hours later, Spiros stretches his back: “nice job folks, all guest rooms in the attic are ready”, then he walks up to Louisa and wraps his arms around her, leaning forward towards her lips, she laughs: “careful, love, I have a bucket full of dirty water in my hands”, Larry chuckles, grabs the bucket, and brings it downstairs, muttering: “before it meets the end of the ink bottle”. Meanwhile Louisa and Spiros hug and kiss lovingly. Spiros makes a happy smile: “the fun is beginning, I can’t believe our Greek wedding is finally so close”, she smiles at him very sweetly, then she kisses him again. A long loving kiss. Their mouths open. Their tongues finding each other. Then she makes a mischievous smile, grabs his hand, and leads him to their bedroom. They close the door behind them. Larry goes back upstairs to work in his room. He sees the closed bedroom door and makes a knowing smirk. He takes his typewriter and typing paper and sets himself up to work at the kitchen table.

  * That evening they are all sitting in the living room. Louisa looks at their first set of guests: “I hope your accommodation works and you don’t mind sharing a room. We’d need to keep our other bedrooms for other guests who will arrive this week”, she is looking at Prudence and Patience who don’t know each other well, Patience is a Dixie and Prudence is a Durrell. Prudence smiles: “I don’t mind it at all, Louisa”, Patience smiles: “of course! We understand. Don’t worry. I am sure we will get along. If I am to believe my mother Sarah, I am a quiet sleeper”, Prudence smiles: “same here, my husband was the snorer. Not me”. Spiros laughs: “I shall not make any comments on that…”, he looks at Louisa with sweet eyes. She laughs and looks at him lovingly: “I shall keep quiet too”, Larry laughs: “I shan’t. I can hear you snoring, Spiro. My room is next to yours!”, they all laugh, “how would you know it’s me, Larry? As far as you know, the snorer could be your mother!”, Louisa swats his shoulder, laughing: “me?!?!?”. Larry makes a smug smirk: “there were no loud snoring sounds from mother’s bedroom before you moved in, sir”, Spiros makes one of his happy smiles: “touché’…”. Louisa laughs: “well, I do hear your snoring, son. I hope that’s not a problem, JeeJee”, JeeJee laughs: “not at all, I snore too. We will make a fine choir, Larry and I”, Louisa smiles: “thanks for sharing your bedroom with Larry, JeeJee”, he smirks: “of course! Larry and I go way back. We have shared accommodation before, under very different circumstances”, Larry blushes: “…whose details we shall keep confidential…”, Louisa looks at them puzzled: “yes… let’s do that…”, the aunts look perplexed. Patience nods: “if those details have anything to do with the content of your books, Larry, I can sure do without them!”, Prudence agrees: “me too!”, Larry makes a smug smile but keeps quiet, making a cross with his fingers on his lips. JeeJee imitates the gesture, making a silly face. They all laugh.
  * Gerry walks in, completely covered in mud. He looks at their guest then waves his hand and smiles shyly: “hello, welcome to Corfu”, Louisa looks horrified: “Gerry, what ever happened to you?”, he looks down, very bashful: “Galini and I were hunting for frogs in a marsh when…”, Larry laughs: “brother, let’s not go into the details of how you and your girlfriend ended up rolling in the mud”, they all laugh, Gerry looks down, his face very blushed. He does not say a word. Louisa looks at him sternly for a few seconds, then smiles: “go and take a bath, darling, dinner will be ready when you get back”, then she looks at JeeJee and smiles: “shall we?”, he gets up with a happy smile: “I was hoping you’d ask Louisa!”, they walk back to the kitchen, happily chatting in Hindi.
  * The others remain in the living room. Prudence, looks at Spiros and makes a soft smile: “how are the wedding plans coming along?”, he smiles at the two aunts: “very well, most things are arranged. We have only a few details to sort with our friend, countess Mavrodaki”, the aunts look positively impressed, Patience repeats: “countess?”, he smiles: “yes, her late husband was the Count of Corfu. She is a very good friend. Our reception will be held in her gardens”, Patience smiles: “how about the wedding ceremony?”, “oh that will be at the Greek Orthodox church”, Prudence seems perplexed: “even if Louisa is not a member of the church?”, Spiros smiles: “well, she actually is now”, the aunts look surprised, Margot explains: “yea, mother was baptized by the Greek orthodox rite last December”, Prudence comments: “oh, I did not realize one could be baptized twice”, Patience smiles: “well, it can’t hurt, can it?”, Larry makes a smirk: “yea, she is doubly holy now”, they all laugh.
  * Spiros gets up: “I hope you can forgive me. I am going to check whether my agapimeni holy bride and JeeJee need help preparing dinner”. After Spiros has left, Prudence: “agapi-what?”, Leslie explains: “it’s _agapimeni_. It means ‘beloved’, Spiro often calls mother that”, Patience smiles: “oh, that’s sweet”, Margot smiles: “yes, they are very sweet together”, Larry adds: “true soulmates”, Prudence looks happy: “that is nice to hear”, Patience looks at the children: “it seems Spiro has your approval, children”, they all nod, Larry answers for them all: “unconditional approval. He is a fantastic partner to mother”, Margot adds: “we are truly happy she has him in her life”, Prudence smiles: “he seems a nice fellow, and his English is very fluent. That’s important. They will need good communication as a couple”, Leslie smiles: “communication does not seem to be a problem between the two of them”, Larry nods: “he was her best friend and confidant long before they became a couple”, Margo agrees: “they really get along and talk about everything”. Prudence smiles: “that sounds very promising. I am happy for your mother”, Patience smiles: “me too. They seem happy together. Very in love”, Margot makes a sweet smile: “they are!”. The children look at each other with happy smiles. This is such a different tone from the constant criticism they had to face with Prue, Geoffrey, and Basil.
  * Spiros walks into the kitchen. Louisa and JeeJee are making food, both chopping vegetables, grinding spices, and chatting in Hindi. He stands at the door, not wanting to interrupt their conversation. He smiles sweetly. Louisa notices him: “you are staring, love”, he smiles: “sorry, love. I was hesitant to interrupt. I have no idea what you two are saying, but you look very happy, love”, she smiles: “I am, catching up on news from India”, she wipes her hands in her apron and approaches him. She puts her arms around his waist and gives him a kiss, then she whispers into his ear: “not jealous, I hope”, he smiles sweetly and whispers: “not unless you give me reason, Louisa”, she seems sulky now: “of course not…”, he smiles sweetly and gives her another kiss: “I know, I was joking. I am happy for you, love. You look very happy”, she kisses him again: “I am and you are the main reason for it, agapimeno gampro’ mou”, he gives her another kiss, then he looks up. JeeJee is still grinding the spices. The secret behind great Indian cooking. Spiros approaches him: “can I help, JeeJee?”, “sure, why not?”, he points to a pile of vegetables: “those all need peeling and chopping”, Spiros puts on an apron and begins preparing the vegetables. Very skilled, as usual. JeeJee looks impressed. He looks towards Louisa and: “ek achchhee tarah se prashikshit pati, mere dost”, she laughs: “indeed, but little of it is my doing”, “usakee poorv patnee?”, Louisa laughs: “not really, a restaurant in Chicago”, Spiros smiles, but says nothing. He doesn’t mind that they speak Hindi. He just keeps helping with dinner preparation, as he usually does.

(trnsl from Greek: my beloved groom. Trnsl from Hindi (compliments of google translate): a well-trained husband, my friend; his former wife?)

  * Saturday, March 4th, evening, Louisa and Spiros are at the docks, waiting. They have their arms around each other’s backs. Suddenly she waves her free arm: “there they are! Brenda! Jim!”, Brenda waves both arms: “hello!!!”. They greet each other, load their baggage in the car and drive back home. Later, they all have dinner, the number of guests sitting around the kitchen table increasing. The children are all chatty as usual, talking with their visitors, telling about their days, their lives on Corfu, and quarreling over little things, as siblings often do. Spiros and Louisa serve the Greek and Indian food they have prepared together. It is clearly a well-practiced drill, their actions well-coordinated. Then they sit side by side, smiling. Brenda is watching them and smiles sweetly: “it is really nice to see the two of you so happy together”, Jim smiles: “yes, finally”, Gerry smirks: “always cooing like pigeons”, Margot smiles:” and together for life like sandhill cranes, eh brother?”, Brenda and the aunts look perplexed, Gerry explains: “they are a monogamous species”, Margo laughs: “yea, comparing mother and Spiro to sandhill cranes is Gerry’s idea of romanticism”, Larry smirks: “and it doesn’t help that his girlfriend is a nature freak too”, Leslie agrees: “yea, she actually appreciates the naturalistic comparisons”, Brenda smiles: “oh, it must be Galini, that girl who was always around here when we visited. I knew there was something going on!”, Gerry blushes, Louisa laughs: “you were good at guessing budding romance in our household, Brenda”, Jim puts his arm on Brenda’s back and gently rubs it. Then he laughs: “yes, she is good at that”, Spiros smiles: “I know…”, then he puts his arm over Louisa’s shoulder, gently pulls her towards him and gives her a loving kiss. She happily returns it. Brenda and the other guests smile sweetly.
  * The next day, Monday, they all go for a picnic to the island of Pondikonissi, reminiscing of the time when Brenda and Jim were on Corfu. They all enjoy the food and relax, laying on blankets on the sandy beach. Then the children and JeeJee strip down to their bathing costumes and run into the water, screaming and laughing. Prudence gets up and goes for a walk along the beach, holding her white parasol. After a few minutes Brenda grabs Jim’s hand: “let’s go for a swim too”. They get up, undress and run into the water too, holding hands. Patience is sitting on a beach chair, watching the youth playing in the water, smiling: “this is so lovely. Now I know why you want to live here, my dear”, she turns to look at Louisa who is sitting on a blanket, next to Spiros, and smiles sweetly: “you look very happy, Louisa”, she smiles: “I am, auntie”, Spiros leans towards her and gives her a soft kiss: “so am I… very much!”, Louisa smiles at him and returns the kiss. Prudence returns from her walk and joins them. She sits on a beach chair, next to Patience, each holding an open parasol. The two women seem to get along nicely. Louisa is happy to see that.
  * Louisa looks at the aunts: “I am happy you could make our wedding”, aunt Patience looks at them and smiles: “I had to check that you had found the right man, my dear”, she smiles, blushed: “I have…”, “yes I can see that”, Spiros makes a happy smile: “I promise I will make her happy”, he looks at Louisa very lovingly. She looks back at him sweetly: “you already are, love”. They exchange a loving kiss. Aunt Patience smiles sweetly: “I am very happy for the two of you, I couldn’t be happier”, Louisa smiles: “Thank you, aunt, your support is very important to me”, Spiros hugs her: “and to me”, Louisa nods: “yea, especially after the ordeal with Prue, Geoffrey, and Basil”. She looks sad now. Aunt Patience notices it: “I hope you won’t allow that to spoil your happiness, my dear. They are not worth it. They were always the most peculiar and shady of our family members”.
  * Prudence intervenes: “I am also very happy for the two of you. It is obvious that you are a well-matched couple”, Spiros makes a big happy smile: “I think so too, but I am partial”, he turns towards Louisa and continues: “my judgment is clouded by love”, he caresses Louisa’s cheek and gives her a soft kiss. Aunt Prudence smiles: “mine may be clouded by love too, but I am liking what I am seeing”. Louisa looks at her with deep gaze: “thank you, Prudence. Your approval means a lot to me. I hope it reflects the sentiment of the Durrell family”, she smiles: “it does. We are happy you are moving on, Louisa” she gazes towards Spiros, now, looking uncertain whether she should say more. He is looking at her with a sweet smile. He seems very comfortable with the idea that she is the sister of Louisa’s first husband. She gently shakes her head and decides to continue: “I am sure Lawrence is looking down at you and approving, Louisa. He’d want you to be happy”, Louisa smiles sweetly: “I like to think that, too”, Prudence smiles: “he loved you very much. He wouldn’t want you to be alone and unhappy for the rest of your life. He’d want you to find happiness again”. Louisa looks at Spiros: “I have found it, Prudence. I did not think it’d be possible, but life has been generous to me, giving me a second chance at love and happiness”. Spiros smiles at her sweetly and gives her another soft kiss. Prudence and Patience look at each other and smile. Prudence turns to Spiros and Louisa: “I am truly happy that providence has finally turned in your favor…”. They all smile. Spiros and Louisa kiss again.
  * Later, they are all sitting on the beach. The children and JeeJee are snacking on leftover food from their picnic lunch, resting after their swim. The aunts are chatting amicably, Jim and Brenda are relaxing, and Louisa and Spiros are lying next to each other on a blanket, hugging. Louisa sits up and stretches: “mmmm this is so nice. Life is good today”, Spiros sits up too and gives her a soft kiss: “only today, my love?”, she smiles at him sweetly: “today and each and every day I am with you, love. I was just thinking about the difference between now and when Prue, Geoffrey, and Basil were with us. This is sooo much more relaxed”, Larry smiles: “you are comparing oranges and apples, mother”, Gerry agrees: “yes, these are the nice relatives…”, Patience chuckles: “well, that’s nice to hear, dears, but that was a fairly low bar they have set”, Gerry blushes: “I did not mean that!”, Patience smiles: “I know, I was only pulling your leg, Gerry”, Leslie stretches: “yea, that whole kidnapping plot was rather nasty”, Brenda is really surprised: “kidnapping?!?!?”, Louisa looks very serious now: “yea…” then she tells them the story. Brenda and Jim look shocked, she comments: “wow, that is quite the story. Will there be a trial?”, Louisa nods: “yes, but we don’t know when yet. It will be another trial with the British-Greek judge”, Brenda looks perplexed now: “another?”, the aunts look surprised too and listen in, “yea…”, Louisa tells them about Hugh’s assault and the trial that followed, “I did not write about it in my letters, to avoid worrying you. There was little you could do, really, and I was receiving the best support, from Spiro and my children”, Larry smiles: “especially Spiro, he is being a truly wonderful partner for mother, always by her side”. Aunt Prudence looks shocked: “oh my God, Louisa, that is such an awful story”, Patience adds: “I am happy you have such marvelous support, thank you for being there for my niece, Spiro”, he wraps his arms around Louisa: “of course, I’d do anything for my love”, she looks at him with loving eyes. They kiss. Their family and friend all smile sweetly. Life is good, finally.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, the 'heaven' metaphor is straight from the TV program. :-)
> 
> The island of Pondikonissi (mouse island) is often mentioned in Gerald Durrell's books as one place where the Durrells loved to have picnics.
> 
> I have no idea whether or not that Hindi is correct. I apologize with the Hindi speakers out there! And I'd be more than happy to make corrections if anyone wishes to point the errors out (like before, this applies also to the Greek parts. Not to mention the English...)


	31. Another trial

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where we learn the cousins' motives and see their trial.  
And wedding preparations are finalized.

  * Tuesday morning, Spiros resumes working. He drives Margot, Leslie, and Gerry to work/class, then goes to the docks with his taxi and drives around several passengers that have just arrived to Corfu with the morning ferry from Igoumenitsa. Then he returns home, picks Louisa up, and they go to the consulate together. Their guests also hitch a lift to town. They drop them off at the main square. Louisa smiles: “we will come by after we are done”, Patience nods: “take your time, dears. We will have a little stroll, then sit for tea or coffee”, Prudence is looking around: “it is so lovely here!”, then the two aunts walk away, chatting amicably, Patience smiles: “I can’t believe that’s where you live! It’s only 3 blocks from me and my mother Sarah!”, Prudence sounds happy: “I had no idea. We will have to see each other again, then!”, “I’d love it if you could join us for tea at some point”, “I’d love that too!”…
  * The consul greets them: “welcome in, my friends, please take a seat, I will call for tea”, he goes to the front office and briefly talks to his secretary, then he returns and hands them a sheet of paper: “the results of the calligraphic assessment of those signatures have arrived. Louisa’s signatures on the first and second marriage licenses are by different people. And Basil’s and Louisa’s signatures on the second license are by the same person”, Spiros asks: “does this prove that Basil has forged her signature on the second license?”, “together with this other document, yes it does”, he hands them a second calligraphic assessment: “I forwarded also the copy of Basil’s lawyer license, with his original signature. It was deemed to be by the same person who has signed your name on the second marriage license”, Louisa sits back: “well, we knew it”, Spiros nods: “and this proves it”, Spiros is looking at her, keeping an eye on her response to all of this. This brings back so many bad memories. She seems calmer than he’d expect. In that moment, the secretary walks in with a tray with a teapot and 3 tea cups. She serves it, the consul smiles: “thank you Kathy”, then she leaves.
  * The consul hands another sheet of paper to them: “this other assessment, instead, is inconclusive. Hugh’s signature on the second marriage license is very similar to that on his other documents, but they could not conclusively determine whether or not they are from the same person”, Louisa looks disappointed: “oh I was hoping we’d find out whether Hugh was part of my cousins’ scheme or just an unaware participant”, Spiros is still keeping an eye on her. She begins to look upset, now. He reaches for her hand and holds it in his. She smiles at him sweetly.
  * The consul sits back: “I will forward copies of these to the tribunal, as well as the British and Greek police. I will also send a copy to your lawyer Alecko. He came by yesterday for various documents he needs for the trial. I will prepare them for him later”, Spiros nods: “thank you so much, consul, we own you so many favors!”, he smiles at them: “ I am just doing my job and I am happy to help the two of you”, Louisa smiles: “we seem to get into lots of trouble!”, the consul replies: “not of your own doing, though”, then he smiles: “oh, I was almost forgetting, Soula sends her regards and says that after your Greek wedding we should find a day that you can come for tea to our house”, Louisa happily agrees: “we’d love to. After the wedding definitely works better for us. We are very busy in this period”, Spiros smiles at her sweetly: “yes, we are receiving a steady stream of visitors from England and India. Louisa’s friends and family who will be attending our Greek wedding”, she smirks: “they are your family too, my dear husband”, he smiles: “of course, your family is my family and your friends are my friends!”, she smiles at him sweetly: “that includes Prue, Geoffrey, and Basil, I am afraid”, he smiles at her sweetly too: “after that introduction, all of your other relatives seem such great people”, they all laugh.

  * Wednesday morning, March 8th. The guests are all around the house, relaxing and chatting. Spiros, Leslie, Margot, and Gerry are sitting in the car, ready to go to work/classes, as usual. Gerry asks: “what are we waiting for, Spiro?”, “your mother, she is joining us this morning, we will be meeting with Alecko shortly. He says he has information for us about the trial for her attempted kidnapping”. Gerry smiles: “oh then I should move”, he gets up and joins his siblings on the back seat. Louisa arrives and sits in the front seat next to Spiros. In town, they drop the children off, then they go to Alecko’s lawyer office. Alecko is sitting on a large leather chair behind a large wooden desk, looking very professional: “come on in and sit down, my friends, I will send for coffees, if you wish”, Spiros and Louisa sit in two chairs across from Alecko’s desk: “yes, thank you!”, Alecko calls his secretary and orders coffees for all, then he smiles, sitting back in his chair: “I have several pieces of news for you”, he hands them a letter from the tribunal: “your copy of this should be in the post. You should receive it soon. We have a date for the trial. It is next Wednesday. The two of you and your children, Louisa, are all called to testify”, Louisa looks surprised: “so soon?”, “yes, it is an accelerated trail because they are deemed dangerous criminals and at risk of escaping”, Spiros reaches for her hand: “after what they have tried to do to you, my love, I can only agree with that. I can’t even phantom the possibility of you being kidnapped and taken away by those people!”, she smiles back at him: “neither can I…”.
  * The secretary walks in: “coffees are here, two skietos and one metrio”, and she puts them on the desk, each with a glass of cold water. Alecko smiles: “efcharisto’ Nikoleta”, They all sip their coffees.

(trnsl: skieto: no sugar; metrio: half-sugar (one teaspoon); efcharisto’ = thank you)

  * Alecko continues: “there’s more. I have also requested a copy of your aunt’s estate”, he takes another envelope out of his desk’s drawer and lays several investment and bank papers on his desk: “there is a fair bit of money”, Louisa corrects: “there _was_ but Basil invested it all in a syndicate of Lloyds of London who insured the Crystal Palace. Well, the palace burnt down shortly afterwards, causing Lloyds’ stocks to collapse. That’s how he lost all of our inheritance”, Alecko hands the investment documents to her with a smile: “these records are very recent and they list several other investments, all of which are doing very well”, Louisa looks really surprised again: “but he said he had lost all of aunt Hermione’s money! All he gave me was enough to pay down my debts and start from scratch”, “well, he lied to you. He sold those Lloyd stocks before their value dropped. He actually made good money from that sale. Then he invested it in other assets, all of which are related to the war effort and are doing very well”, “I had no idea!”, Alecko hands her the bank statements: “the profits are being deposited into this account. The holders are all of the heirs, including you, Louisa. The list of transactions shows several withdrawals, all by Basil, Prue, and Geoffrey. Some are rather large. They were living a good life spending this money”, she is really upset now: “I can’t believe my own family would steal from me, a widow raising 4 children alone”.
  * Spiros reaches for her hand and looks at her sweetly: “…and lie to you… and forcefully marry you to Hugh… and kidnap you… it seems there are many things they were prepared to do for your money”, she looks very sad now: “it is so hard to accept…”. Still holding her hand in his, he looks at her lovingly: “not all of your family is like that, love. Your aunt Patience and Prudence both seem rather approving of us. And you are receiving several letters from relatives who are happy for you and many of them are traveling far to attend our wedding and share your happiness. And your brothers’ letter was very sweet and supportive. You should focus on them and feel happy you have them in your life”, Louisa smiles at him sweetly: “you are correct Spiro. I should appreciate the good I have”, he smiles at her: “including your closest family… your own children. They are such great people and very supportive of our union. They really care about you and your happiness”, she smiles at him very sweetly: “and you, I should be very grateful I have found you in my life”, his eyes are full of love: “and I am so grateful I have found you!”, they lean towards each other and exchange a loving kiss. Alecko smiles.
  * Alecko continues: “there is something else”, he takes a large envelope out of his desk’s drawer: “I have requested a copy of your aunt Hermione’s Will, Louisa. There is a clause that I suspect you may not be aware of. He picks up the Will and reads it: “if my niece Louisa Florence Emily Dixie Durrell was to marry Mr. Spyridon Halikiopoulos, the taxi driver of Corfu Town, Island of Corfu (Kerkyra), Kingdom of Greece, (known as Spiros Amerikanos to most), my entire estate shall go to her and her husband, as my wedding gift, with my best wishes for a happy life together”, Alecko looks at Louisa. She looks completely surprised. She is quiet for a moment, then she wipes a tear and whispers: “I had no idea… auntie Hermione… who would have thought!”, Alecko explains: “the clause was added a short time before her death. Just before she left England to come to Corfu”, Louisa whispers: “but she has never told me!”, Spiros smiles at her sweetly: “she knew… she must have guessed that we were in love, during her previous stay here”, Louisa nods: “yes, when she visited with Prue and Geoffrey”, she smiles: “she knew even before we did”, Spiros takes her hand in his: “not quite, you were already very special to me back then. Your aunt must have seen that”, Louisa smiles sweetly at him: “…and you were very special to me, but I still thought I could fight my feelings. Auntie must have seen right through that, and this clause was her own eccentric way of blessing our union. Very characteristic of her, actually”, Alecko nods: “and Basil has never told you…”, “no”, “that is really unprofessional. As a lawyer, he cannot withhold any parts of a Will from the heirs”, “well, he obviously did not tell me because it’d exclude him and his parents from the inheritance”, Spiros nods: “and it explains why they came here so quickly when they received our wedding invitation, to stop you from marrying me”, Alecko adds: “this is a clear case of conflict of interest. He should have never acted as the depositary and executor of your aunt’s Will”, Louisa looks sad now: “and I trusted him completely… I even gave him power of attorney over my part of our inheritance”, Spiros looks at her with loving eyes: “your heart is so pure, my love, that you think everybody else is good too”, she smiles at him: “I am not that naïve, love, I just thought Basil was a decent man. Maybe not very clever, but honest. I so misjudged him!”, Spiros nods: “well now we know what he is capable of and on Wednesday we will learn what the British judge thinks of that!”
  * Alecko sits back: “well, now we have the motive for their crimes. This trial will be an easy win. I have already forwarded copies of all of these documents to the Corfu police, to aid with their investigations, and to the court, for use at the trial”, Spiros smiles gratefully: “thank you so much, Alecko”, he smiles: “I am happy to help, my friend. You sure are keeping me busy, lately!”, Spiros laughs: “I know, you must regret returning to Corfu, now!”, “I am happy I am back here, actually. It feels like home the way Thessaloniki never has. Even Irene loves it here and the main reason for we stayed in Thessaloniki was that’s her home town and I thought she’d be happier there, near her family and friends”, Louisa smiles:” that’s very sweet of you, Alecko”, he smiles sweetly: “yes, I want her to be happy above anything else. Then one day we came here on holiday, to visit my family and she fell in love with Kerkyra. So we decided to give it a try for a few months. I promised if she did not like it here we’d go back to Thessaloniki. Well, now she says she never wants to live there again”, Spiros smirks: “of course, our island is so lovely”, Alecko agrees: “and with so many lovely men”, Louisa laughs: “I must agree with both of those statements. A lovely island with very lovely, and lovable, men”, she looks into Spiros’ eyes very sweetly, he looks back at her, lovingly. They kiss.
  * Spiros looks at Alecko: “how did you get these documents all the way from England so quickly?”, “the consul was involved – all official requests for documents from the UK need to go through his office - and he was really very helpful. He made sure the paperwork was processed very quickly. He telegraphed the requests as ‘urgent’ and he made sure the documents were sent here through certified express post. They were actually flown on a British Air Force transport aircraft that was bringing armed personnel to Corfu. There are a few of those going back and forth these days. The UK is stationing several armed forces around Greece, including Corfu…”, Louisa smiles: “we will have to thank the consul even for this, then. He is being so nice to us!”, Spiros agrees: “yes, a very good friend. We will need to make sure we keep in touch with him and his family even in England”.
  * Alecko sits back and smiles: “speaking of the consul, I have also asked for your most recent documents from the British consulate, Louisa, to complete the paperwork for the trial”, he puts a copy of their marriage license on his desk, then he laughs: “when I asked about Louisa Durrell, the British consul told me that is no longer your name, Mrs. Halikiopoulou! The two of you have been married since December 22nd, 1938!”, Spiros and Louisa smile at each other sweetly, then Louisa answers shyly: “yes, we have…”, he puts more documents on his desk and looks at Spiros: “and you and your children have been British citizens for several weeks!”, Louisa and Spiros nod, smiling. Alecko is still laughing: “and you didn’t deem it fit to inform your lawyer, friend, and koumbaro*?!?!”, Spiros laughs too: “sorry, my friend, we didn’t think! Of course, you’d need this information for the trial!”, he laughs again then continues: “we married by British law earlier than initially planned, to get the process of acquiring British citizenship going, so that we’d be able to move to England together, if needed”, Louisa further clarifies: “but we did not want to spoil our Greek wedding, so we did not tell anyone”, Alecko smiles: “yes, the consul has explained. This sure confirms my suspects, my friend!”, Spiros laughs: “what suspects?”, he laughs too: “that you, indeed, still are the same old rascal I knew in high school!”, they all laugh, Louisa chuckles: “then I must be one too”, Alecko smiles: “indeed, two very well matched rascals”. They all laugh.

(*trnsl: koumbaro = best man)

  * That evening Wednesday March 8th – Larry returns to the house having picked up more guests, Louisa’s niece Glorie (daughter of her oldest brother John) and their old friend Dr. Chkravati from India. Louisa approaches with a very big happy smile: “welcome to our home!!”, she and Glorie hug and Dr. Chkravati hugs her too, but much more carefully. Larry has warned them about Louisa’s PTS. Spiros approaches: “I am so happy to finally meet you. Louisa was very excited to learn that you’d be able to join us on our wedding. I hope you had a good and safe trip”, Dr. Chkravati replies smiling: “very good, thank you. Our ship went up through the Suez Canal, to Alexandria. From there we took another ship to Patra that did not take too long. And from Patra to here, it was only a one-day ferry ride”, Louisa is smiling happily: “I am so happy you came!”, Glorie smiles: “I am really happy to see you again, aunt Louisa. It has been too long!”. They all walk back to the house. The guests settle upstairs while Louisa, JeeJee, and Spiros prepare dinner. Later, they are all sitting around two large tables, their one kitchen table not being able to accommodate them all anymore. Louisa and Spiros serve food to all of them, then they sit next to each other, across from Glorie and Dr. Chkravati. Patience and Prudence, who are now living in England but were born and used to live in India, are sitting with them. For a while they all chat quite amicably in Hindi. Spiros is watching Louisa who looks really very happy. She notices that: “I am so sorry for the Hindi, love, I keep doing it”, he smiles sweetly: “don’t worry, love, you should enjoy your visitors and you obviously enjoy being able to speak Hindi again. I am very happy for you, so keep doing it”, they smile at each other sweetly, then he makes a smirk: “just, please, be nice when you talk about me behind my back…”, JeeJee laughs: “don’t worry Spiros, she only always says very nice things about you”, she looks at him sweetly: “of course! You know that, love!”, he smiles naughtily: “I know, I just like to hear you say it”, she makes a sweet loving smile. They reach for each other. They kiss.
  * Glorie smiles: “happy to see that what your children wrote to father and uncle George was true”, Louisa chuckles: “nothing too nasty I hope”, Glorie looks at her and Spiros then she makes a sweet smile: “only good things. They think Spiros is your true soulmate. It seems they were correct”, Louisa smiles: “haan, vah vaastav mein meree aatma hai”, Spiros looks at her with a sweet smile: “hey, I have no idea what you just said, but I know you are talking about me!”, Larry laughs: “she sure is!”, JeeJee confirms: “indeed!”, Spiros looks curious now, Leslie smirks and winks at him: “she only said that she plans to not show up in church on March 19”, Spiros looks at Louisa making a silly/sad pouting face: “and completely break my heart? I will never be able to recover if you do that to me, Louisa”, Louisa leans towards him and gives him a soft kiss: “that’s not what I said! Of course I will show up, love”, Spiros smiles sweetly and returns her kiss: “I sure do hope so!!”, Glorie laughs: “so do I, I did not come all the way for nothing!”, they all laugh, Spiros smiles: “so, is anyone going to translate what my fiancée has just said about me?!?”, Larry chuckles: “that you are her soulmate”, he looks at her very lovingly: “I am so happy to hear that, because I feel you are my soulmate too”, they hug and kiss again. They all smile, then Glorie chuckles: “well, happy we have settled that”, they continue chatting, in English this time. Spiros decides to leave the table so that they’ll feel more comfortable speaking in Hindi again. He knows Louisa enjoys that. He gets up and collects the dirty plates: “I will take care of this. You keep chatting folks”, he walks to the sink and begins washing dishes. The conversation switches to Hindi almost immediately. Spiros makes a happy smile.

(trnsl (google): yes, he really is my soulmate)

  * Over the next few days, more guests arrive. Larry’s friends, George and Pam Wilkinson and Dorothy Brown, the daughter of their good friend Mrs. Brown, all arrive from England with the morning ferry from Brindisi on Thursday March 9th. Larry and Leslie pick them up. The Wilkinson stay at a nearby guest house. Margot shares her room with Dorothy. 
  * One day Louisa and Spiros go to town to buy groceries for their guests. They load a few baskets with food in the car, then they also pick up their post from the post office. Among them, letters of congratulations from people who have been invited but cannot attend the wedding. One letter stands out. Louisa makes a big smile: “this is from Sven and Viggo!”, she opens and reads it while Spiros is driving back: “they are still in England. They have decided they will stay there. They say they like England, but they want to move south to be in the warmer part of the country”, “you should suggest Bournemouth so that we can be close!”, she smiles: “I will!”, she reads some more, then she laughs: “Sven has found a job as an entertainer. He plays his accordion with a band!”, Spiros chuckles: “perfect for him, whether you like the accordion or not, my dear nyfi*” she laughs: “still not crazy about it, but I am very happy for him”, she continues reading: “oh, this is very sweet”, then she reads from the letter: “we are both sad we won’t be able to be at your and Spiros’ wedding. I’d love to see your very happy smile as you marry the man who stole your heart and who is such an obviously perfect match for you. If I could be there I know I’d be the loudest cheering for your happiness… and I’d be playing my accordion… whether you like the instrument or not, my dear almost-bride. And with this I know you are now breathing a sigh of relief knowing that I won’t be there on March 19th. Viggo and I send you and Spiro our love and best wishes for a happy wedding and a happy life together. Always your _special_ friend, Sven”.

(*trnsl: nyfi = bride) 

  * That afternoon, Larry picks up the car keys: “may I, Spiro?”. Spiros looks puzzled: “more guests arriving? I don’t have more arrivals for today on our list”, Larry blushes. Spiros looks at him, curious. Larry is not one to blush easily. Larry answers: “yes, with the evening ferry from Brindisi”, “anyone I know?”, “you do, actually. It’s Nancy”, “oh your mother did not tell me she was coming too”, “she doesn’t know yet… it’s a surprise”, he makes a sweet smile: “for her or for you?”, he blushes, but he also looks sad: “for both, I guess. I must admit I wasn’t sure she’d actually come until she sent a telegram earlier that she was in Brindisi”, Spiros puts his arm on his shoulder: “I hope she is here for the reasons you are hoping”, he makes a nervous smile: “yea… well, I will find out soon enough”. He goes off to the docks. Spiros calls after him: “good luck!”.
  * A few hours later, after they are all done with their dinner, Spiros and Louisa have just washed and dried the dishes and are now putting them away. Louisa comments: “I haven’t seen Larry”, “he is out with the car”, “it’s unusual for him to skip dinner”, “well, I hope it’s a good sign”, she looks puzzled, he smiles: “he went to the Corfu Town port to collect Nancy”, “oh, he did not tell me she was coming. I hope it means they can get back together. Larry has not been happy with other girls since their break up”, “yea, he has not been in any serious relationship”, she makes a sad smile: “and I think it’s because he still cares about Nancy”, Spiros smiles: “well, the ferry should have arrived more than 3 hours ago. I hope this delay means they are reconnecting”.
  * Much later, everyone is retired to their bedrooms in their now very full house. Louisa and Spiros are hugging lovingly. He kisses her tenderly: “tired?”, “a bit…”, “you look very happy, my love”, she leans towards him and gives him a kiss, “I am! Being able to catch up with friends and family is so nice! I hadn’t seen some of them in more than 10 years”, he smiles sweetly: “I am so happy for you, my love”, she looks at him: “I hope you don’t feel I am neglecting you”, he gives her a kiss: “don’t worry, my love. Of course you must enjoy their company while you have it. I will have you for the rest of our lives. Plenty of time to catch up”, he hugs her tightly and gives her a long kiss: “and I get to have you all to myself at night”, he puts his hands under her pajamas and gently massages her breasts: “and in ways none of our guests can”, she giggles. He continues stroking her bare skin. She moans softly. He removes her pajama’s top and kisses her nipples until they harden. She moans more deeply and whispers: “mmmm, that feels so good….”, he smiles: “and I have only just begun with you, my love”, she murmurs: “and me with you”, then she reaches under his pajamas and begins stroking his skin with her nails. He shivers lightly. She removes his pajama’s top and begins kissing his chest, nipples, and neck. He moans softly. Then she pulls down his pajama’s bottom. She giggles quietly: “someone seems very ready here”, he makes a naughty smile and whispers: “always!”, she smiles too, then she keeps giving him many soft kisses, down his abdomen, his groin, his erection, until she takes him onto her mouth, kneeling besides him, her back to him. He moans deeply. He reaches for her pajama’s bottoms and removes them. Then he reaches for her sex and stimulates her with his fingers. She moans deeply too, increasing her sucking on him. After a while he reaches for her head and turns her towards him. They kiss very sensually, he sits up. She sits on him. They hug tenderly and make love until they both come with very deep sighs. Then they lay on the bed, relaxing, their naked bodies hugging lovingly.
  * They hear footsteps and soft voices, Louisa whispers: “Larry is back”, “and I think Nancy is with him”, Spiros smiles: “well that explains why JeeJee said he’d rather sleep in Gerry’s room tonight”, they both chuckle. The footsteps continue into Larry’s room. The door closes behind them. Spiros smiles: “it seems they are back together. This is very good!”, she smirks: “I am happy for Larry, but beware what you wish, love…”, in that moment, they hear fairly heavy pants, loud moans, and small screams, Larry’s bed clearly banging against the wall between theirs and Larry’s bedroom. He laughs: “not as quiet as us”, she laughs too: “then he wonders how I know about his girlfriends…”, they smile sweetly, hugging, until they fall asleep.

  * In the next days, a few more friends arrive, mostly from England. Some of Larry’s friends arrive from France. They are all hosted either at their friends’ or in nearby guest houses. Louisa, Spiros, and her children are all busy, but also rather happy, enjoying their visitors. Several of their guests are sitting on the veranda. Louisa and Spiros are sitting next to each other, holding hands, chatting with the various guests. Patience is watching Larry and Nancy, smooching on the bench at the back of the garden: “I thought you had told me they had broken up”, Louisa smiles: “they had. This is a very recent development”, Spiros smiles: “they have become inseparable, always hugging, kissing, and making love. We may have to organize a double wedding”, Louisa laughs: “that seems unlikely but I do hope they can make this work. Larry looks very happy”, Patience smiles: “he does, and with you all returning to England soon, they may actually have a future this time. Maybe we will plan another wedding, in Bournemouth”. They smile.

  * Wednesday 15 March, 1939. They all get up early and get ready for the kidnapping trial. After breakfast, their house guests are all ready too. Louisa smiles: “you don’t need to go. You can relax and enjoy your day. The weather is lovely today”. Brenda replies: “of course we’ll go with you”, Patience agrees: “I wouldn’t be able to relax. I’d just keep thinking about you”, Prudence adds:” yes, we might as well be there”, Spiros smiles: “thank you all for your support. Let’s drive a first group there, then. It will take a few trips”, Margot gets up: “happy to do that, Spiro. You should focus on the trial”, he smiles at her as he hands her his car keys: “thank you, Margot”, Margot drives her mother, siblings, and Spiros to the courthouse, then she returns to the house to pick up the guests.
  * At the courthouse they find their usual friends (Petridis, Stephanides, countess, etc) as well as several other wedding guests who are not staying with them. The room is rather full. The cousins’ lawyer, Aristides, is sitting at one table. The Albanians’ lawyer, Philippos, is at a second table. Alecko is waiting for Louisa and Spiros at a third table: “come in, my friends. You should sit here. The accused and the judge will be here soon”. Louisa looks around and notices that two large cages have been set up on a side of the room: “those were not here the last time”, Alecko explains: “they are for the accused. They are considered dangerous and deemed at risk of escaping”. In that moment several armed guards appear. They open a back door and lead the Albanians in. They are all shackled and they get locked into one of the cages. Then Prue, Geoffrey, and Basil, also in shackles, are taken to the other cage. They are locked in, then two guards stand by each cage while the other guards position themselves in various locations within the room, by all doors and windows. The cousins look around and notice several familiar faces, including their own relatives who are here to attend the wedding. Prue makes a faint smile towards Patience. Patience is staring at them, shaking her head. Louisa is looking at the cousins with sad eyes, still in disbelief of what they have attempted to do. Spiros takes her hand in his. She turns towards him. They look at each other with sweet smiles. Spiros asks softly: “how are you doing?”, “I am doing fine, my love”. He gives her a soft kiss.
  * The judge walks into the room. They all stand. The trial begins. The defense lawyers stand up and each reads the statement of the accused. Among other things Philippos says that the Albanians claim: “they were not trying to kidnap anyone. They were just in town for an evening out, got drunk, and picked up a fight with a couple without knowing they were a policeman in disguise and an actress”. The cousins’ lawyer, Aristides, states that: “they were not planning any kidnapping and those Albanians claiming otherwise must be lunatics”.
  * Then Alecko stands up and reads a long statement based on the police reports, the testimonies given by the accused on the night of their arrest, and Gerry’s witness statement on the conversation he heard between the cousins. Among other things, Alecko states that: “leading up to the alleged attempted kidnapping there had been criminal attempts to prevent the wedding between Mrs. And Mr. Halikiopoulos, which included the attempted extortion of a signature on a first marriage license and the forging of Louisa’s signature on a second marriage license that was deposited with the British consul”, then he moves on to the alleged attempted kidnapping of Mrs. Halikiopoulou. In that regard he points out that: “the Albanians’ testimonies, taken individually and independently on the day of their arrest, all agree that on that day they were in Greece to kidnap Mrs. Halikiopoulou and forcefully bring her to England by land”, and that: “they consistently point at Prue, Geoffrey, and Basil as the senders”, then he points out how “those testimonies are in full agreement with Mr. Gerald Malcolm Durrell’s independent witness report, also collected separately on the day of the alleged kidnapping attempt”.
  * Then various pieces of evidence are presented, including the calligraphic assessments and the documents Alecko has obtained from England; aunt Hermione’s will and estate report, as well as the bank statement. In addition, the Greek police present evidence of a monetary transfer from Basil to the Albanians, as well as copies of several telegrams that have been sent back and forth between the cousins and the Albanians.
  * Several witnesses are called to testify, including the British consul, Gerry, Louisa, and all of the accused. Spiros, Larry, Margot, and Leslie are also called as witnesses of the attempt to trick Luisa into unknowingly marry Hugh Jarvis. As Louisa’s lawyer, Alecko reads a concluding statement: “the picture is very clear here. Extensive evidence provides a clear motive. In addition, the police report, as well as the independent statements collected by the Corfu police from the key witness Mr. Gerald Durrell and the Albanian accused parties on the day of their arrest, are in remarkable agreement with the provided evidence”.
  * The judge stands up: “if there are no other testimonies I will now retire to reach a decision”. He returns after more than an hour with a fairly long document. They all stand as he reads it aloud: “this court is condemning the Albanians… to 10 years in jail for the attempted kidnapping of Mrs. Louisa Florence Emily Dixie Halikiopoulou, with no parole for 5 years. This court is also condemning the accused Prue, Geoffrey, and Basil, to a 15-year imprisonments with no parole for 10 years, for being the senders of said kidnapping attempt. They are also to cover for all court expenses and they are to provide monetary compensation of 10,000 British pounds to Mrs. Halikiopoulou. In addition, as of December 22nd, 1938, the estate of the deceased aunt Hermione and the bank account receiving all earnings from that estate shall be transferred in full to Mrs. Halikopoulou, as per aunt Hermione’s will. Any monetary withdrawal from said account by the accused occurred after said date shall be reimbursed by the accused within a month, with a bank transfer. Finally, Basil’s license to practice law is revoked indefinitely”.
  * The audience applauds. Justice is done. Louisa and Spiros hug tightly. She doesn’t feel like celebrating, though. It’s her family that was condemned. It is still not easy to accept. Spiros knows it and tries to distract her from those thoughts. Still holding her in his arms, he whispers in her ear: “let’s all go home, my love. It’s time to make lunch for our large group of friends and family”, she smiles sweetly: “yes, let’s do that”, and gives her a loving kiss: “let’s focus on your very many family and friends, who are demonstrating their love and care for you, my love”, she smiles: “I know, let’s go home and make lunch for them”, then she turns towards the fairly large group that has gathered around them: “this is over, let’s go home and think about the future, starting with lunch in two hours. JeeJee, may I count on your help?”, he makes a big happy smile: “of course, Louisa, always!”. Margot drives them all home, with several trips.

  * Friday March 17th, 1939. Two days before their wedding. After breakfast Spiros, Louisa and several of their guests are sitting on the veranda. Louisa smiles: “you are all welcome to stay here after our wedding, for as long as you wish. Corfu’ is lovely at this time of the year”, Prudence looks at Louisa with serious eyes now: “my dear, that would be wonderful, but the reality in Europe right now does not lend itself to holiday planning”, Patience agrees: “rather than us staying here, when I go back to England I’d like you and your family to go with me”, Brenda adds: “not to interfere with family matters, but I wholeheartedly agree with Prudence and Patience. As lovely as Corfu may be, it is time for you to take your family to safety”, Glorie nods: “I must agree, staying here is too dangerous. Dr. Chkravati and I will leave shortly after the wedding and you should do the same”. Louisa is holding Spiros’ hand. She makes a sad smile: “I appreciate your concern. We are aware of the political situation and we do have plans to leave Corfu and go to England. Spiros’ children, Dimitra, and Christo will go with us too”, Patience smiles: “I am really happy that you intend to return soon, Luisa. You can all stay with me, at least at first. As you know, I have a large house and I’d be happy to help you resettle back in England”, she looks sad: “thank you, aunt, it will be lovely to be closer to you, but I will miss this island”, Spiros smiles at her sweetly, puts his arm around her shoulders, gently pulls her towards him, and gives her a tender kiss. He says nothing. He lets Louisa and their guests do the talking. Louisa smiles at him sweetly then she turns towards the others: “we will stay here for as long as it is safe, but we will leave eventually”, Larry, holding Nancy on his lap, adds: “most likely after the Summer. Mother and Spiros’ good friend, the British consul of Corfu, is on an emergency evacuation list. We will leave when all British nationals will be advised to. The consul will communicate with us when he receives word from England”. Patience smiles: “well, my house is open to you, any time”, Prudence nods: “so is mine”, Brenda adds: “and ours. We have guest rooms and we’d be happy to have you stay with us”, Louisa looks moved: “thank you all so much”, a few tears roll down her cheek. Spiros wipes them lovingly, and gives her another kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hang in there. Their Greek wedding will be next. :-)


	32. 19th March, 1939: the Greek Wedding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The day of the Greek Wedding is finally here!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have attended a few Greek (and many non-Greek) weddings in my life and now I am hoping my memory has not failed me as I was writing this chapter...

  * Sunday 19th of March, 1939. The day of the Greek wedding. In the morning, the numerous house guests are all sitting around the veranda, enjoying the warm sunshine. Brenda has made breakfast for everyone: “sorry if this is not up to Louisa’s and Spiro’s wonderful cooking”, Jim smiles: “you are being too modest, my dear. Your cooking is very good”, she approaches her husband and gives him a kiss: “thank you, dear”, Gerry agrees: “it’s excellent, Brenda, thanks for making it”, she smiles: “of course, I am happy to help today! It is a busy day for your mother!”, Larry sniggers: “let’s not investigate how busy. Mother and Spiro have not emerged from their bedroom yet”, Margot chuckles: “I am to help the bride prepare for her big day, but I don’t dare to walk in that room. They all laugh. Leslie smirks: “you might as well help us with the car, sister. It may be a while before you can safely go in there…”, Brenda laughs: “go ahead, children, take care of the car. I will clean up here and make sure your mother and Spiro have some breakfast, even if it means I have to barge into that bedroom with my eyes shut” the children laugh, then they get up. Larry picks up a box with several fresh cut flowers: “Dennis came early this morning. He brought these for the car. They are from the countess’ gardens”, Margot smiles: “they look beautiful!”. They thoroughly wash the car, dry it carefully, and apply a shine to it. Then they decorate the bonnet and doors with the flowers. Gerry steps back and looks at it from a distance: “very nice, perfect for today”.
  * Margot goes upstairs and dresses up for the wedding. Then she calls behind the closed door to her mother and Spiros’ bedroom: “may I come in? Or is it unsuitable for minors?”, Spiros opens the door laughing: “it’s all clear, Margot”, she walks in. Her mother is sitting on their bed, in her undergown, brushing her hair, which is still wet from the bath she has just taken, “I am here to help mother prepare. It is time for you to leave, Spiro”, he pretends to be offended: “are you booting me out of my own bedroom, Margot?”, she answers with a pretend stern voice: “yes, sir, you are not to see the bride ahead of the ceremony. You two fiancées have already had way more ‘contacts’ than it is socially acceptable”, they all laugh, Margot continues: “very sinful, sir”, he makes a big sweet smile as he looks at Louisa: “sinful maybe, but also quite enjoyable”, Louisa blushes: “enough joking now, you really should leave, Spiro”, he sits on the bed by Louisa and looks at her with sweet eyes: “see you in church, my love”, then he hugs her and they exchange a very long kiss, Margot laughs: “the atmosphere is getting hotter in here. Let me know if I should be leaving…”, he gets up and laughs: “no need to, Margot, I will be removing myself from temptations”. He picks up his wedding suit, shirt, tie, socks, and shoes and puts them in Larry’s bedroom, for later.
  * In that moment Brenda arrives with a tray with breakfast for Louisa: “for our bride. You will need energies to face today, my dear”, she smiles: “thank you so much Brenda, I really appreciate your help”, then Brenda turns towards Spiros who is still standing on the landing and smiles: “yours is downstairs, Mr. groom, still on the cooker. I have just rewarmed it. You also need energies for today”, Margot makes a naughty smile: “and tonight…”, they all laugh. A blushed Spiros smiles: “thank you very much, Brenda”, then he turns towards Louisa and looks at her very lovingly: “see you later, my love, I can’t wait…”, he goes back to their bedroom and kisses her again. Brenda and Margot both smile sweetly. Spiros leaves. Louisa begins eating: “this is delicious, thank you for making breakfast, Brenda. I was hungrier than I thought”, Margot chuckles: “too much activity, already, mother?”, Louisa blushes: “enough joking, silly girl...”, Brenda smiles: “it is going to be a long day, make sure you clear that plate, my dear!”, then she walks back downstairs. Louisa finishes her breakfast and Margot brings the tray with the dirty plates to the kitchen. Patience and Prudence are clearing the table. Brenda is washing dishes: “thank you Margot, just put those on the table. I will get to them”, Margot approaches her: “I can do that, Brenda. I feel bad that you are here as a guest and are working so hard”, she smiles: “don’t worry about it, I am very happy to do my share today and Jim can pitch in too”, he gets up: “of course, my dear. He grabs a towel and begins to dry the dishes Brenda has just washed. Margot smiles: “you already have helped a lot, Brenda, when you helped bring the two of them together”, Brenda smiles too: “I am really happy if this is the outcome of my actions. Your mother looks very happy”, Margot nods: “she is!”, “I can see that. It is very obvious”, they both smile sweetly, “enough talking, Margot, you should go back upstairs and help our happy bride prepare”.

  * Leslie is the official driver. He picks up Florence, the countess, Lugaretzia, Maria Stephanides, and Dimitra, who join Margot in helping Louisa prepare: “hello koumbara!”, Florence walks in: “hello Louisa”, “and hello parakoumbares”, the countess replies: “hello beautiful bride”, Lugaretzia, Maria, and Dimitra smile: “hello”. They all hug Louisa, then they close the bedroom door. The room is full of women all of whom look very busy and giggle extensively. They help Louisa prepare for her big day. They style her hair first. The countess hands them a box with several pink rose buds: “don’t forget these”, Louisa smiles: “those are very pretty, thank you countess”, “they are from my gardens. Dennis has been tending to these very lovingly ever since I told him we were going to use them for your wedding”, Louisa smiles: “I will have to thank him too, then. They look perfect!”, Florence picks one out: “this is the best, we will save it for the blouse”, Dimitra takes the rest and begins to pin them to Louisa’s hair. Maria, Margot, Florence, and the countess all help. Margot steps back to watch from a distance: “mother your hair is looking so lovely!”, she holds a mirror so that Louisa can look at herself.

(trnsl: koumbara and parakoumbares: bridal party)

  * Meanwhile Leslie continues driving around. He takes all house guests to town. They will hang around the main square and walk to the church later. Then he picks up a few more wedding guests, including those who are staying at various guest houses and friends because they could not fit in their house. JeeJee, Louisa’s niece Glorie, and their friend Dr. Chkravati are wearing traditional Indian wedding outfits, Leslie approves: “those looks very beautiful. They will make mother very happy. She loves all things Indian”, JeeJee smiles: “I know, that’s why I made sure I brought my wedding outfit. I have also brought my sitar. I will play a few Indian songs at the party. My surprise gift for her”, Glorie smiles: “same here. I intentionally brought my wedding sari and I asked our friend Dr. Chkravati to bring his wedding outfit too”. Leslie drops them off at the town’s main square: “see you later. I am to go back home and help prepare our groom for the day, now”. The Indian guests get off the car, sit at a table of the coffee shop and chat amicably in Hindi. Several local people look at them with great curiosity. The rumor that JeeJee is an Indian prince has made the rounds. The colorful golden clothes seem to confirm that…
  * Meanwhile, the preparation of the bride continues. The women now help Louisa wear her white wedding dress. The top is simple sleeveless silk with a wide décolleté. Lace flower decorations ornate the edges and her breasts. The silk bottom part of the dress is also simple. It tightly embraces her beautiful body contours, wider at her feet, where it softly drags on the ground. Lace flower decorations matching those of the top part are around her waist and abdomen, and the bottom edge, “oh this dress has a problem. I can’t reach the buttons on my back”, Florence buttons it up: “not a problem at all. Easy, easy!”, the countess smiles: “and I am sure Spiro will be very happy to help you take it off, later”, Florence laughs: “for sure!”, Louisa blushes: “please, ladies, my own minor daughter is listening”, Margot makes a smirk: “good thing they said that, mother. Otherwise I would have never thought that Spiro would ever undress you…”, Louisa blushes then laughs: “let’s drop the topic, shall we?”, they all laugh. Lugaretzia is watching with disapproving looks: “that dress shows everything!”, the countess smiles: “not really everything, only her lovely arms”, Lugaretzia remarks: “the front is very open too!”, the countess replies: “to show off her beautiful cleavage”, Dimitra chuckles: “especially to the priest!”, Louisa blushes, they all laugh loudly. Florence smiles: “don’t worry Lugaretzia, we have those for church”, she points at the laced blouse and veil, sitting on the bed, Lugaretzia looks relieved and smiles: “entaxi, kalitera*”, the women all laugh.

(*trnsl: entaxi = OK; kalitera = better)

  * Spiros, Larry, Leslie, and Gerry are listening from downstairs and hear all that laughing. They are very curious about what is going on. Leslie comments: “they sure seem to be having a good time in that room”, Spiros makes a naughty face: “and I thought I was the one who had the best time in that room”, they laugh. Larry smiles: “Let’s us have a good time too, Mr. groom. We should get you ready for your big day, now”. They all go upstairs to Larry’s bedroom, then the Durrell boys help Spiros prepare. Larry shaves his beard, leaving a touch of sideburns, just enough to look manly. Gerry combs his hair and puts some brill cream on it, then he looks at the result: “excellent, easier than grooming my donkey”, Spiros laughs: “so I am just another Greek gaidouri*, Gerry?”, they all laugh hard, then Leslie holds a mirror up for Spiros to look at himself: “you actually did a very good job, Gerry!”, “told you, Spiro, my practice with animals helps a lot. At least you did not try to kick, peck, or bite me in the process!”, they all laugh again. Then Spiros wears his new shirt and suit. Leslie does the knot of his necktie: “thank you Leslie, that is not something I wear a whole lot”, “neither do I, Spiro, but I did get lots of practice when I was in the police force”, they laugh, then Larry takes a box with several white rosebuds: “Dennis gave this to me earlier, from the countess’ gardens”, they each put a rosebud in their own Jacket’s boutonniere, then Larry puts the nicest of the rosebuds in Spiros’ boutonniere: “the final touch… just perfect now!”, “thank you Larry”.

(*trnsl: gaidouri = donkey)

  * Gerry steps back and looks at him: “yes, perfect, mother will love that”, Leslie smirks: “yea, and I am sure this time she will actually go through with the wedding”, They all laugh thinking about the near miss with Sven. Spiros smiles sweetly: “well, I sure do hope so!”, Larry smiles too: “of course, Spiro”, Leslie smirks: “I wouldn’t worry, Spiro. I am sure she will marry you”, Gerry smiles: “and happily so, not quite like a praying mantis”, Spiros laughs: “I’d rather be the sandhill crane, Gerry, especially today”, Leslie makes a smirk: “… and you two are already married, so she really has no way out this time!”, Larry nods: “yes, she is trapped”, they all laugh again. Now it’s the women next door who hear the laughing and wonder what is going on.
  * Spiros is ready much more quickly than Louisa. He calls towards their bedroom’s door: “I am ready love, I am coming in for a kiss now!”, from inside a chorus of women voices replies: “no!!!!” The men all laugh, Spiros smiles: “fine, fine, then I will be waiting for you in church, my beloved nyfi”, she replies smiling sweetly: “see you there, agapimeno gampro’ mou”.

(trnsl: nyfi = bride; agapimeno = beloved; gampro’ = groom; mou = my)

  * Meanwhile, the countess hands Louisa a very beautiful bridal bouquet, “I have assembled it myself. The flowers are from my gardens.”, “thank you so much countess, it looks so beautiful that I will feel sorry when I toss it in the end”, Margot makes a naughty smile: “you will feel even more sorry if I end up catching it!”, they all laugh again. Lugaretzia looks horrified: “o gampro’ gives that!”, Louisa looks surprised, Dimitra nods: “I thought you knew it, Louisa”, Florence adds: “oh this is different from the Anglican rite and I had forgotten about it!”, the countess nods: “me too!”, Lugaretzia remarks: “this is very bad luck. Unhappy marriage”, Louisa smiles: “I am sure it is not that bad, Lugaretzia”, the countess smiles: “nothing can make their union unhappy”, Maria smiles too: “they are too in love”, Louisa blushes, Margot agrees: “indeed, we all know that!”, then she grabs the bouquet and runs downstairs. Just in time, her brothers and Spiros are still in the house, getting ready to leave. Margot hands the bouquet to Spiros, he smiles happily: “thank you, I will take good care of it!”.
  * The women continue preparing Louisa. They do her make up with great care, then they help her wear the blouse and pin a pink rosebud to it. Florence arranges the veil on her head, then they all step back. Florence smiles: “very beautiful”, Margot agrees: “so nice mother, Spiro will love what he sees!”, Maria smiles: “he already does, but this will reinforce his resolve”, Dimitra smiles: “for sure, you look really pretty, Louisa”, Louisa blushes, then she smiles. She looks very happy. The countess smiles: “you look so lovely and so very happy, my dear!”, Louisa smiles sweetly: “I _am_ happy”, “and it shows! The spark in your eyes and that lovely smile really add to your beauty”, Louisa smiles shyly, blushed.

  * Leslie drives Spiros and Gerry to church. Larry is to wait at home and drive in with Louisa, to give her away in church. Holding the bridal bouquet in his hands, Spiros is standing inside the church, near the door, welcoming the numerous guests as they arrive. He looks very happy, but also nervous. Meanwhile, Leslie keeps driving around. He picks up Spiros’ koumbaro, Alecko, and parakoumbaroi, Dr. Petridis, Theo, and Christos. When they get to the church, Gerry gives a white rosebud to the koumbaro and each of the parakoumbaroi and helps them put it in their boutonnières. Then Alecko and the parakoumbaroi stand near the altar. Meanwhile Leslie picks up Spiros’ parents. When they get to the church they approach Spiros smiling: “syncharitiria, gio mas!”, they both hug him, then they sit, waiting for the ceremony.

(trnsl: koumbaro and parakoumbari: wedding party, masculine; syncharitiria = congratulations, gio = son, mas = our)

  * Katherini is in church too, wearing a pretty white dress, running around with her friends, all excited. At some point the women who were helping Louisa arrive too. It is a sign that Louisa will be next. The koumbara and parakoumbares go to the front of the crowd, near the altar. Dimitra takes Katherini’s hand and the two of them go outside of the church to wait for the bride’s arrival. As they wait, she pins the last pink rosebuds to Katherini’s hair and dress, “you look really lovely now. Perfect for your bampaka and Louisa’s big day”. Inside, everybody is waiting. Leslie has set up his camera on a tripod, ready to immortalize the day. Spiros is standing by the church’s door, looking very nervous, now.
  * Suddenly, Gerry and Mihalis walk in, excited: “she is here!”, the musicians play Mendelssohn's Wedding March. Spiros anxiously waits for the bride by the church’s door with a happy smile. The wedding guests all turn towards the door. Louisa walks in, holding Larry’s arm. When they reach Spiros, Larry ‘gives’ his mother to him. Spiros hands the bridal bouquet to her, and takes her right hand. Then the bride and groom slowly walk down the aisle at the pace of the music. Katherini is holding her dress behind her. When they reach the altar, Spiros lifts her veil and lays it back onto her head. He looks at her very, very, lovingly and whispers: “you look so beautiful, my love!”. She looks back at him with a very sweet smile. Then the priest celebrates the wedding, which involves extensive chanting in old Greek and the reading of passages from the Bible and the Gospels. Just before the actual vows Florence and Alecko hand Louisa and Spiros the lambades, white candles from the matrimonial altar, which they hold to the end of the ceremony. Then, the priest joins their right hands and the bride and the groom each say their vows. Louisa’s voice trembles, but she actually does a good job with the Greek words she has spent so much time memorizing. Spiros looks at her very lovingly and full of pride. Then, there are several ceremonial steps, including the exchange of the rings (done 3 times), and the stefana (3 exchanges of wedding crowns between the spouses, before leaving them on their heads), both done by the koumbaro Alecko. Then, the priest takes Spiros’ arm and guides him and Louisa as they take their first steps as a married couple, walking around the matrimonial altar three times (the Dance of Isaiah). Finally, the priest completes the ceremony, with more chanting, the blessing of the newlywed couple, and the removal of the wedding crowns. Louisa and Spiros are now husband and wife by the Greek rite. They hug tightly and exchange a very long kiss. The audience claps, then they all go outside.
  * Meanwhile, together with their koumbaro, koumbara, parakoumbaroi, and parakoumbares, the newlyweds sign the paperwork. 
  * When Louisa and Spiros exit the church, people throw rice at them. Then they all approach the bride and groom to congratulate them on their wedding. Spiros’ parents are first, then their children, then all of their relatives and friends and several curious people who have just showed up. Louisa and Spiros keep holding each other, hugging and kissing. Throughout, Louisa’s bridal party and children make sure no man can approach and touch her from behind by surprise. That is still the only trigger of her attacks. She has done desensitization with Dennis and her male friends, Theo, Dr. Petridis, and Christos, but surprise touches by men from behind are still difficult. They don’t always go well. So they figured they need to avoid them. Other than that, she seems completely recovered and her and Spiros look very, very, happy today.

  * Several wedding guests begin walking towards the countess’ house, while Leslie drives back and forth with those guests who’d rather not walk. First, he drives the countess and Dennis who will be organizing the guests in her gardens as they arrive for the reception. It is a beautiful warm sunny day, perfect for outdoors celebrations. Spring flowers are in full bloom and the gardens are beautifully prepared for the party. There are several round tables with white embroidered table cloths, nicely set up with beautiful plates and silverware, and a vase with fresh flowers at the center. On one side is a long rectangular table with high back chairs decorated with fresh flowers, for the bride and groom, as well as chairs for Spiros’ children and parents and the Durrell siblings. On the side of the main table is a table for the koumbaroi, parakoumbaroi and their spouses. Opposite the main table is a stage with the musicians, who are now playing soft classical music. At the center, is a large open area covered in sleek wood boards that will be the dance floor later. Large pots with beautiful flowers are strategically located around the gardens, giving the place an exquisite and luxurious look. Several waiters walk around in their uniforms and offer the wedding guests glasses of wine and finger food. Dennis is coordinating things, wearing his high uniform and a big happy smile. As the guests arrive he directs them to sit at the various tables. 
  * The bride and groom leave the church grounds and walk to the countess’ house, hand in hand, their fingers interlaced, surrounded by their wedding parties and several guests. When they arrive, the guests who are already there stand up and welcome them with a long applause. Louisa looks around and makes a big happy smile: “this is so beautiful, thank you countess!”, the countess smiles at her. Spiros turns towards Louisa and takes her in his arms, then speaks with sweet voice: “this is all wonderful, but nothing beats your beauty today, my beloved bride”, she smiles sweetly at him and they kiss, Florence speaks aloud: “time to remove that veil and the blouse, Louisa!”, the countess agrees: “yes, let’s show off your beautiful dress!”, the guest all applaud. Louisa blushes, Spiros delicately removes her veil and uncovers her hair, which is beautifully styled and decorated with the pink rose buds. Then he helps her remove the blouse, Alecko speaks loudly: “excellent job removing your bride’s clothes, my friend, but you can stop at that for now!”, Louisa blushes, the guests all laugh and applaud again. Meanwhile Spiros is looking at Louisa mesmerized, his eyes full of love: “my love, you look so beautiful in this dress!”, he kisses her lovingly, then whispers: “today is a dream come true and your beauty is the culmination of that dream. Please, nobody wakes me up!”, she smiles at him very sweetly: “you look very handsome too, my beloved groom, straight out of dreamland”, they look into each other’s eyes very lovingly, then they exchange a long love kiss. The guests applaud again, Maria smiles: “I have a funny feeling we will be doing lots of applauding today”, Florence smirks: “and here I was, thinking those two could not smooch any more than they normally do”, her husband puts his arm around her shoulders: “well, today it is expected” then he leans towards her and gives her a tender kiss. She smiles back at him sweetly.

  * Once all guests have arrived and all have a glass of wine in their hands, the food begins to arrive too. The main pieces are whole piglets, lambs, and goats that have been slowly cooked over hot charcoal, on a large spit (souvla). Each animal is beautifully served over giant platters, surrounded by baked potatoes. Several vegetable dishes prepared in various ways are served with the meat. Louisa, Spiros, and their wedding guests all sit down and enjoy their meal. She smiles at him: “you look very hungry, my beloved groom”, he looks at her with his mouth full: “I was!”, she giggles: “been stressed, haven’t we?”, he smirks: “given your precedents, I wasn’t 100% sure you’d show up”, she slaps his arm and laughs: ”you knew I would!”, he smiles at her sweetly: “yes, I did…and I am so very happy you have!”, they lean towards each other and kiss softly. The guests see that and applaud.

  * After the food, it is time for dancing. The bride and groom open the dances. They have chosen their favorite: Johann Strauss II’s The Blue Danube Waltz and they dance to the music beautifully. The wedding guests all watch and clap in the end. After that, the countess gets up and walks to the dance floor: “that was lovely, my dears, but your koumbara and parakoumbares have chosen a second opening dance for the two of you to perform. Florence gets up: “and you will need this for it”, she hands Louisa a red rose with a long stem. Louisa blushes and laughs: “I knew the two of you were plotting something”, Spiros looks puzzled. The musicians begin playing a tango rhythm. Spiros recognizes it and laughs: “now I understand! Let’s dance to this, my lovely bride”, he takes the red rose and puts it in between her teeth, then they start dancing. They begin slowly, then they get into the rhythm. Their moves become really very sensual. The two of them are so perfectly in tune that they can dance each step with their bodies in full contact with one another, all the while staring at each other with very sexy gazes and passing the rose from each other’s mouth every few steps. It is obvious that their bodies know and find one another very well. The wedding guests all quiet down and watch in admiration. The musicians see that and prolong the piece by replaying several parts. At the last notes, Spiros hold Louisa’s back with his hands and leans her backwards, almost down to the floor. She holds the position, looking completely abandoned in his arms, the red rose in her teeth. The music ends. The guests clap. Spiros lifts Louisa up, takes the rose and puts it in her hair, then he wraps his arms tightly around her. They hug and kiss. A very long and very sensual kiss. The guests keep clapping.
  * The countess is clapping: “wow, they looked marvelous and very, very, sexy”, Florence smirks: “told you! Now, imagine the reactions when they did something like that at the Litany of St Spyridon’s feast!”, Dimitra laughs: “yes, they really scandalized the conservatives in town!”, Maria smiles: “not only on that occasion, look around yourself now”, they all look at the wedding guests. Several of them, including Spiros’ parents, Lugaretzia, the priest who has just married them, and several other people (Greek and non-Greek) are looking rather scandalized. Larry smiles: “who can blame them? For a moment I thought they’d consummate their marriage on that dance floor”, Leslie laughs: “that would really shock many of the guests”, Gerry, laughs too: “including me. There are things I really, really, don’t need to witness. She is still our mother, after all!”, they all laugh, Larry smiles: “well, at least they are legitimately married in church now”, Margot adds with sweet voice: “and they look so very happy!”, she is looking at her mother and Spiros who are still kissing passionately on the dance floor, holding each other very tightly. Larry smirks: “told you… unless someone stops them, those two are going to consummate right now!”, they all laugh.
  * Larry gets up and talks to the musicians. They begin playing traditional Greek music now. Spiros and Louisa hear that, stop kissing, and start dancing again. The Greek guests all get up and join them, including Spiros’ parents, Lugaretzia, and several Greek friends. Larry returns to their table smiling: “much more Greek-friendly, now”, Dr. Petridis grabs Florence’s hand “let us jump in too, my dear”, They all get up and join the dance, forming a long spiraling circle.

  * After several more Greek and non-Greek dances, JeeJee takes out his sitar. He goes to the stage and announces: “and here is a little surprise for our lovely Anglo-Indian bride”. He begins playing and singing traditional Indian wedding songs. Glorie, Dr. Chkravati, Theo, Maria, Patience, and Prudence get up and dance to the music. Louisa makes a very happy smile and joins them. So do her children. Spiros does not know those dances. He looks at them for a bit, observing the steps, then he jumps in too, next to Louisa, doing a surprisingly good job. After several Indian dances, JeeJee stops playing and hugs Louisa: “congratulations, my friend. I know yours will be a very happy union”, then he turns to Spiros: “congratulations to you too, lucky man”, Spiros laughs sweetly: “I know, truly very lucky”, then he kisses Louisa. The guests all clap. JeeJee smiles and sits back at his table.
  * The musicians begin playing Greek music again. Louisa and Spiros sit at their table to rest. Spiros smiles: “that was fun. I did not realize he was going to do that”, Louisa smiles happily: “I didn’t know it either. It was a nice surprise”, he looks at her: “was that the kind of music you had at your first wedding?”, she looks at him now and speaks with serious but soft voice: “this is not the day to talk about that, love”, he sounds serious too: “why not? Does it pain you to think about it today?”, she smiles at him sweetly: “it is not that, Spiro, I have told you many times before, I have put Lawrence in my past”, she reaches for his lips and gives him a loving kiss: “today I am here to be _your_ wife. I don’t really want to think about anything else. I want to focus on the very intense happiness I am feeling because I love you so much, Spiro”, he smiles at her sweetly: “and I love you! And I am very happy too, Louisa. I couldn’t be happier”, they look at each other with very loving eyes, then they exchange another long kiss. The guests notice that and applaud again, Florence and Maria look at each other and Laugh: “yes, lots of clapping”.

  * Meanwhile the Greek and many non-Greek guests are dancing in a wide circle that spirals around the dance floor. Spiros’ uncle Leonida approaches the happy couple who is still sitting at their table. He speaks with slurred drunken voice: “welcome to our family Mrs. Durrell”, she smiles sweetly: “it’s Mrs. Halikiopoulou now, but thank you! And do call me Louisa, please”, he wobbles and leans against their table to hold himself upright: “all right, Louisa!”, then he swings dangerously towards one side. Spiros is ready to get up and catch him before he falls, when his two brothers who live in Corfu join in and help uncle Leonida stand. Then his brother looks at the couple and smiles: “we have all known it for a long time that the two of you were in love. We are happy you are now part of our family, Louisa”, she smiles sweetly: “efcharisto’ poly, ime poly’ charoumeni pou ime melos tis oikogeneias sas”, the brothers look at each other, surprised: “your Greek is very good!” she smiles sweetly: “o adelfos sas ine enas poly’ kalos daskalos!”, Spiros gently pulls her towards him and gives her a kiss: “with the best student…”.

(trnsl: thank you very much. I am very happy to be part of your family; your brother is a very good teacher!)

  * In that moment Spiros’ parents return to their table too. They sit next to them. His mother smiles sweetly and waits for them to stop kissing: “aftoi’ oi dyo ine panta poly’ romantikoi’”, Spiros’ father smiles too: “poly’ romantikoi’ kai telika’ pantremenoi”, his wife looks at him then she smiles: “mia efcharisti prosthiki stin oikogeneiá mas”, then she looks at Louisa: “kalos ilthate, Louisa, nyfi mas”, Louisa smiles and looks at all of them: “efcharisto’ para poly’. Aisthanome poly’ efprosdekti stin oikogeneia sas”, Spiros looks at her very proudly: “such wonderful Greek, agapimeni nyfi mou”, he kisses her again, then he grabs her hand and stands up: “let’s dance some more, my love”, she follows him happily. In that moment the Greek dance ends. The musicians see them approach the dance floor and begin a waltz. The newlyweds happily dance to the music, staring into each other’s eyes lovingly. Spiros’ parents, his brothers, and their wives also dance to the waltz and so do many other couples, including Christos and Dimitra, Larry and Nancy, Gerry and Galini, and many English and Indian guests. Leslie invites Lugaretzia who happily accepts. Dennis approaches the countess very blushed, he bows, his hand stretched towards her: “puis-je avoir l'honneur, comtesse?”, she smiles, takes his hand, and gets up. He leads her to the dance floor. He puts his arm at the small of her back. She puts her left hand on his shoulder. He takes her other hand in his and holds their arms outwards as they dance to the waltz beautifully, smiling sweetly.

(trnsl from Greek: these two are always very romantic; very romantic and finally married; a happy addition to our family; welcome, Louisa, our bride; thank you very much, I feel very welcome in your family; my beloved bride. Trnsl from French: may I have the honor, countess?).

  * When the waltz ends the musicians begin a romantic tune, with a slow swing rhythm. Spiros wraps his arms around Louisa in a tight hug. She wraps hers around his neck and they continue moving to the slow music, lovingly staring into each other’s eyes, cooing sweetly, and exchanging soft kisses. Many other couples also dance to the slow rhythm, including Larry & Nancy and Gerry & Galini who quickly become locked into a tight hug and a series of long sensual kisses. Dennis and the countess continue dancing too. She still has her left hand on his shoulder. He pulls her other hand against his chest and holds it there with his hand, their bodies in close contact now. He leads them in a slow dance. Many people are watching. Margot approaches the musicians and talks to them. They nod and go on to play a long series of slow dances. The couples on the dance floor continue moving slowly to one romantic tune after the other, including Dennis and the countess, whose bodies move closer and closer with each dance. They are now wrapped in a tight hug, their arms around each other’s back, slowly moving to the music. Her head is leaning on his chest, her eyes closed. He bows his head towards hers and kisses her hair softly, holding his lips there for a long time. His eyes closed. Spiros and Louisa are watching, still dancing to the slow rhythm. He makes a smirk: “what’s going on there?”, she smiles: “whatever that is, it is very sweet…”.

  * During a break between dances, a large cake is brought out and placed on the table of the bride and groom. Louisa and Spiros stand by it, make a first cut with their joined hands, and exchange the ritual kiss. Then the waiters take over, cut many slices and serve the wedding cake to all of the guests. Other waiters open several bottles of champagne and Spiros, Louisa, and their guests toast to a healthy and happy long marriage. After eating the cake Spiros calls for everybody’s attention. Him and Louisa are standing on the dance floor. They each have one arm around the other’s lower back, Spiros speaks aloud: “It means a lot to us that you’d all be here to celebrate our very special day with us. Some of you have traveled really very far to join us”, they are both looking at Louisa’s friends and family from India and England. Spiros continues: “we truly appreciate you being here. Thank you all!”, there is a long applause, then Spiros continues: “today we are putting a Greek seal onto our beautiful love story. As you all know, we have been living together for several months and we are so happy together that the best I can hope is that after today nothing truly changes”, he turns towards the countess, then winks at Louisa, smiling. These exact words triggered their ‘row’ a while back. The two women smile sweetly. Then he continues: “we have been in love for a long time and our love is so deep and magical that I am certain today marks the first day of the rest of our happiness”, he looks at Louisa with the most loving gaze. She looks back at him, with a very loving and sweet smile. They hug tightly and kiss. The wedding guests applaud.
  * Then he turns towards the wedding guests: “I have written a song for this special occasion which I would like to sing now”. He repeats his little speech in Greek, then he picks up his guitar and wears it around his neck. He turns towards Louisa and looks at her very sweetly: “I am dedicating this song to my beautiful English nyfi. My true big love, who I am ecstatic would have agreed to share her life with this ugly Greek”, she smiles at him very lovingly. He begins playing a slow, romantic, tune with his guitar. The musicians pick up the rhythm and add a soft accompaniment. He begins singing, all the while looking at her very, very, lovingly: “aspro charti’ i zoi’, melani i kardia’. Mia peripetia me fos, gia lexeis. Bes sto chthes, k’ oneiro tha 'ne to avrio. Epoches, kleise ta matia an thes”, he repeats the text 3 times, with different musical scales, with music-only intervals in between. Throughout, she looks at him with a very sweet smile. Her eyes full of love. When he stops singing, she closes her eyes (as per the end of the song), he hugs and kisses her. She returns his kiss, happily. Then he puts his guitar down, they hug tightly, look into each other’s eyes deeply, and exchange a very long love kiss. The wedding guests applaud.

(trnsl: nyfi = bride. The song is the end theme song of the TV series; Life is a blank page, the heart is the ink. An adventure full of light, are the words. Enter yesterday, and tomorrow will be a dream. Seasons, close your eyes if you want). 

  * Margot’e eyes are all teary: “aww that was soooo very romantic!!”, Florence smiles sweetly: “indeed”, the countess, who is now sitting next to Dennis, makes a sweet smile: “romantic and not at all surprising”, Dr. Petridis is holding his wife’s hand in her lap: “not really, we all know how in love they are”, Larry looks at Gerry and anticipates him: “like sandhill cranes, NOT praying mantis, brother”, Theo, Gerry, and Galini laugh loudly, Gerry is holding Galini’s hand: “truly inseparable”, Theo, smiles at Maria sweetly: “bonded like cranes, cooing like pigeons”, Leslie agrees: “glued together for life by buck loads of molasses”, Alecko, with his arm around Irene’s shoulders adds: “I am sure theirs will be a very happy marriage. We just need to keep them away from tribunals”, the consul agrees: “indeed!”, the judge nods: “I couldn’t agree more, they have been keeping me quite busy lately!”, Alecko chuckles: “and me!”, the consul adds: “and me!”. They all laugh. Alecko whispers at the consul: “especially when they withhold critical documents from their own lawyer”. The two men laugh again. Meanwhile Spiros and Louisa are still kissing. The guests keep applauding.

  * The Durrell children all stand up and go to the stage, then Larry attracts the guests’ attention: “I’d like to say a few words too, if our newlyweds are done smooching…”, everybody laughs, Louisa and Spiros laugh too, they exchange another quick kiss, then they turn towards Larry, their arms around each other’s backs, “…on behalf of my brothers and sister, I wanted to thank you all for being here to share this very happy day with our family. Today’s celebration of the union of our mother and Spiro by Greek rituals crowns a process that has begun several months ago. Ever since Spiro has moved in with us, we have been feeling that our family is finally complete again. And we couldn’t think of a better man than Spiro for that completion. He is the most respectful and loving partner we could desire for mother as well as a really very good friend for us all”, he turns directly to Spiros: “welcome to our family, dear friend!”, Spiros looks moved: “thank you Larry and… all of you”, he is looking at the Durrell children, smiling sweetly. They all smile back at him.
  * Then Larry gestures towards Spiros’ children who run up to the stage and join the Durrell children. Larry continues: “Katherini, Mihali, my siblings, and I would now like to reveal our wedding gift for the happy couple”, Spiros and Louisa look surprised, Larry walks up to them and hands them an envelope. Louisa opens it and takes out a sheet of paper. Spiros and Louisa read it together. She smiles: “oh my God, thank you so much!”, then she hugs and kisses the 6 children one by one. She gives a big kiss even to Mihalis, who promptly blushes. Then she picks up Katherini. The girl puts her arms around her neck: “thank you very much for the beautiful gift, darling”, “I gave Larry my piggy bank for it!”, “that was so sweet of you, thank you!”, she gives her a big kiss, then she puts her down by Dimitra. The two women smile at each other. Spiros too is doing the rounds thanking all of the children. The wedding guests are curios now, Alecko shouts: “so what is it?”, Florence adds: “yes, tell us!!”, Spiros replies: “a one-week stay in a hotel near the village of Kavos”, Larry explains: “it is for their honeymoon. It is an all-inclusive small hotel, 5 min walk from a very secluded beach at the south end of the island. At this time of the year they will probably be there alone”, Margot adds: “it is a very romantic place… not that those two really need that”, she smiles, looking at Spiros and Louisa who are hugging and kissing again. Everybody laughs, Gerry adds: “they will leave this evening. We have secretly packed a suitcase for them. It is ready for pick up at home”, everybody applauds again, Larry smirks: “and we made sure we packed a very sexy bathing costume for mother”, they all laugh. Louisa blushes. Spiros smiles naughtily: “thank you Larry, I really appreciate that”, Larry chuckles: “not a problem, my friend!”, Leslie makes a mischievous smile: “for you instead, Spiro, we didn’t pack any. We though you wouldn’t need a bathing costume at all”, everybody laughs even harder now. Katherini looks puzzled: “why not?”, Dimitra smiles sweetly: “Leslie is only joking, koukla, of course they have packed bathing costumes for both of them”. Mihalis laughs. Christos smiles, his hand on Dimitra’s, in her lap.

  * Spiros takes Louisa’s hand: “let’s dance some more, love of my life”, she smiles at him lovingly: “happy to, my sweet romantic”. The musicians begin a Greek dance. Louisa and Spiros lead a long spiral of dancers around the dancefloor.
  * After much dancing, it is time for Louisa to toss her bridal bouquet. All single women get up and stand in a crowd, Margot among them. She looks around, then: “wait a moment!”, she runs up to the countess and takes her hand. The countess laughs: “me?!?!?”, “well, you are single, aren’t you?”, then she gently drags her to the group of single women. The countess laughs and places herself at the back of the group. Margot goes to the front. Louisa turns her back to them. The musicians play a tune that creates suspense. Louisa waits a few beats then she arches her back and throws the bouquet behind her shoulders, with all of her strength. Then she turns to see where it falls. The bouquet turns into the air and changes direction slightly. As it flies over the group, the women stretch their arms high to try and catch it. The bouquet does one last flip and falls straight into the countess’ arms! Everybody applauds. The countess laughs loudly: “oh my God, this is very funny!”. Louisa approaches her and hugs her, whispering in her ear: “maybe not so funny, my friend. It is never too late to find love again. So much I have learned from my own experience”. Then she looks towards Dennis who is smiling happily. The countess follows her gaze and blushes: “don’t be silly, my dear”, Louisa says nothing. She just smiles at her friend sweetly…

  * It’s late afternoon when the guests begin leaving the party. Spiros and Louisa thank them all and give each family a bonbonniere with koufeta (candied almonds) that symbolize the sweetness and bitterness of marriage.

  * Leslie is busy driving several of the guests back home. Then he drives home their many visitors from England and India who are staying at nearby guest houses. Finally, he returns to the countess house and picks up the newlyweds. They say good bye to the countess and Dennis and drive back to the house. Spiros and Louisa are sitting on the back seat, hugging happily. They kiss, many times.

  * At home, the house guests are all waiting to say goodbye to the two honeymooners. The children load the car with the suitcase and the beauty cases they have prepared. Larry hands them an envelope with some cash: “for extras. You should go, now, it will take you about 2 hours to get there, it’s a fairly winding road”, “I know the way very well, Larry. Don’t forget that I am a taxi driver”, they all laugh: “of course, Spiro, just drive carefully, please!”, “don’t worry, I will. I have the most precious cargo today”, he hugs and tenderly kisses Louisa who is smiling at him very sweetly. Margot smiles: “and the smooching continues…”. They all laugh, then everyone hugs the newlyweds goodbye. Louisa makes a worried expression: “oh, but if we leave now who will look after our guests?”, Larry chuckles: “mother, mother, don’t worry about that. Just enjoy your honeymoon, will you?”, Margot adds: “yes, we will be fine, mother”, Brenda smiles: “off you go now!”, Larry looks at Spiros and makes a naughty smile: “you will need to work hard to distract this worrier from her usual mothering thoughts, man”, Spiros laughs: “more than happy to put in the effort, Larry!”, Louisa blushes. They all laugh. Then Spiros and Louisa leave on their honeymoon. The children and the guests stand by the house waiving their hands. As they are driving away, Spiros and Louisa look at each other lovingly, “my love, I am so happy you are my nyfi. I have to pinch myself to believe this is not all just a dream”, she looks at him very lovingly: “and I am very happy you are my gampro’. Truly a dream come true”. Spiros stops the car, reaches for her, they hug and exchange a long kiss. The children and the guests notice the car has stopped behind the trees, still in the driveway, Brenda looks worried: “oh, I hope there is nothing wrong with the car!”, Leslie adds: “it was running just fine when I drove it earlier”, they walk towards them, then they all laugh, Margot giggles: “they are smooching again!”, Larry chuckles: “if they keep ‘driving’ at this pace they won’t get there before the end of the week”, they laugh, turn around and walk back to the house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next, the honeymoon, of course. If you like smut, stay tuned. If not, then you may want to skip the next chapter...
> 
> The end song of the TV series can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgDN8-ktFQk


	33. Honeymoon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's a honeymoon. It needs no summary...😉❤️🔥

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this truly is smut galore. 🔥🔥If you don't like that kind of things, just skip this chapter...

  * When they get to the hotel, the hostess Christina approaches them, “welcome! I was waiting for you. I hope your wedding was good”, Louisa replies: “yes, it was very good, thank you!”, “would you care for some dinner?”, Louisa shakes her head: “not for me, thank you, I had lots of food today”, “well, actually… I could use a small dinner”, she looks at him, surprised: “if you are hungry, dear, then sure, why not? I can have a small salad”, Christina smiles: “how about a horiatiki salada with cheese, olives, bread, and dips?”, Spiros agrees: “that would be perfect. I am not very hungry either”, “very good I can have a light dinner ready in about 30 min”, Louisa nods: “perfect, meanwhile we can unpack”. Christina shows them to their room, then she goes back downstairs to prepare their dinner.

  * Spiros and Louisa look at each other very lovingly. “here we are, agapimieni nyfi mou”, “nai, imaste edo’, agapimeno gampro’ mou”. They hug and kiss for quite some time, their kisses becoming more and more sensual. He begins touching her body through her wedding dress, she giggles: “hold your horses, my love, dinner is being prepared for us”, sounding disappointed, he mumbles: “mmm now I wish I had not requested a dinner…”, she laughs sweetly: “what do you think, should I change for dinner?”, “no, please, seeing you in this dress makes me love you so much!”, he kisses her. She looks serious now: “wouldn’t you love me in a different dress?”, “oh my God, Louisa, that is so NOT what I meant to say! You know that I love you in anything! Even a bag!”, he smiles naughtily: “even more so with nothing on”, she giggles: “then what did you mean to say, love?”, he looks at her lovingly: “that I love to look at you in your wedding dress for what it represents. It reminds me that you are my wife. That we will be together for as long as we live. And that thought makes me very, very, happy. That’s what I meant to say, my love”, she smiles at him lovingly: “oh, that is very sweet! Then I will keep this dress on forever. I love what it represents too”, then he makes naughty eyes: “…and you look very sexy in it. Am I allowed to say that without getting into trouble again, my beloved bride?”, they smile at each other very sweetly and hug and kiss again, for a long time. He begins touching her body through her dress again, she smiles sweetly: “behave yourself, my love, we need to be back to the dining room in less than 10 minutes”, “mmm, don’t I _really_ wish I had not opted for dinner? They laugh and kiss again. Louisa smiles sweetly: “let’s get organized to go downstairs. We can unpack the suitcase after dinner”. They open their beauty cases in the bathroom. He combs his hair, she fixes her make up, then they go downstairs.

(trnsl: my beloved bride; yes, we are here, my beloved groom)

  * During dinner, they keep cooing, looking at each other very lovingly. Christina observes them smiling. She is used to couples on honeymoon. These are older than usual, but clearly very in love. At some point Spiros looks serious, “what is it, love?”, “what?”, “you look serious, anything troubles you?”, “I can’t hide anything from you, my beloved wife, can I?”, she smiles sweetly: “and I can’t hide anything from you, my love. That’s the best part of our relationship”, he looks at her lovingly: “yes, we truly understand each other”, she looks into his eyes sweetly: “so, what is troubling you right now?”, he looks serious now: “well, I was thinking about our earlier misunderstanding on the dress”, “oh that was no big deal”, his eyes are sad now: “I know, but I am wondering whether it represents something bigger for us as a couple”, she looks surprised now: “bigger? It was only about a dress, wasn’t it?”, “yes, but I am wondering whether it is one of many examples of us being unable to communicate properly because of my poor English”, she looks at him sweetly: “your English is not poor at all!”, he still looks worried: “but I often don’t word things properly and that caused that misunderstanding earlier”, “but then you explained and we were fine”, he looks into her eyes lovingly: “then you will have to be patient about that. I may need to explain what I mean sometimes”, she smiles at him sweetly: “I will always be happy to listen to your explanations, my love”, he still seems unsure: “aren’t you worried that our dialogue as a couple will be affected by that?”, she answers with sweet voice: “not at all, you have been my confidant for years. Language was never an impediment”, “oh but I did misunderstand things many times and you often had to explain the meaning of things”, she smiles sweetly: “and I find that is not an impediment to dialogue at all! I actually find it very endearing when you ask for explanations in English”, he smiles naughtily: “endearing? What do you mean, mind explaining”?” she laughs sweetly: “oh I know you know what that means!”. They smile lovingly, lean towards each other, and kiss. “And we should continue with our lessons. I want to learn more Greek so that we will be able to communicate both in English and in Greek, eventually”, he makes a happy smile: “happy to keep the Halikiopoulos school open for my beloved student”, she looks at him sweetly: “ime poly’ charoumeni pou tha kratas to scholeio anoichto’”, he makes a proud face: “that was excellent, it definitely earned you several rewards, my beloved student. So many that it will probably take me the whole week to deliver them all”, they giggle and kiss, then she looks at him with loving eyes and speaks with sweet voice: “s’agapo’ poly’, ton agapimeno daskalo mou”, he looks at her very, very, lovingly: “kai ego’ s’agapo’ para poly’, Louisa”, they kiss again.

(trnsl: I am happy that you will keep the school open; I love you very much, my beloved teacher; I also love you very much, Louisa)

  * After dinner, they go back to their room. He hugs her: “time to take this beautiful dress off my beautiful and sexy nyfi, finally!”, they kiss sensually. She smiles sweetly: “I need help, though, I can’t reach the buttons on my back”, he makes a naughty face: “_very_ happy to help with that!”, she laughs, “yes, the countess and Florence said you would be!”, he laughs: “of course, that was easy to predict!”, he kisses her and touches her through her dress. She smiles sweetly, then she turns around so that he can unbutton her dress. She steps out of it. He carefully puts it on a chair. She is wearing her new white silk undergown now: “mmm, that’s very sexy but you still look more covered than I’d like, my love”, she giggles sweetly: “so do you, my groom”, she takes off his necktie and Jacket. Then she pulls his suspenders down, unbuttons his shirt and takes it off him. Then she has him lift his arms and removes his tank top. She hugs his naked torso and kisses his chest: “mmm, that’s already much, much better, my beloved gampro’”. They kiss passionately again. He touches her through her undergown then she raises her arms so that he can take it off her: “definitely better, now, nyfi mou”, she opens his trousers and lets them fall onto the floor. They are both in their underwear now. She looks down and makes a sweet smile, biting her lower lip: “oh you seem very ready, my love”, his underwear is raised by his erection. He smiles sweetly: “ready for marital duties, my love”, they kiss passionately again. He reaches for her back and undoes the clasps of her bra. He takes it off and kisses her breasts: “mmm you are so beautiful, my beloved bride”, she smiles sweetly: “so are you, my handsome groom”. She undoes his underwear and drops it to the floor. Then she hugs him, rubbing her body against his erection. He takes her knickers off and begins touching her. They lay on the bed, kissing sensually.
  * “Agapimeni nyfi mou*, close your eyes now. I want you to concentrate on your sensations while I ‘play’ with your beautiful body”, she smiles and closes her eyes. He kisses her lips, very softly at first, then more sensually, reaching deep into her mouth with his tongue. Meanwhile he caresses her body with very light touches, her breasts, her thighs, her abdomen. She moans. Then he begins kissing her body, her neck, her earlobes, her nipples, her abdomen, her inner tights. She keeps moaning, more deeply now. He reaches her sex and kisses and licks her extensively. Her moans become deeper and deeper. He continues for a long time, while also caressing her body lightly. She becomes very aroused. Her body is really responding now. She has many small shivers of pleasure. After a particularly intense shiver, he inserts his two fingers and moves them in her while sucking on her clitoris. She was so close that she has an orgasm almost immediately, with very, very deep sighs. He keeps kissing her sex until she comes down from her high. Then he reaches her face again. He softly touches her lips with his. She opens her eyes. They kiss lovingly. “that was marvelous, my love”, he smiles sweetly: “and it’s only the beginning, my love”, she smiles at him. They kiss again, many times.

(*trnsl: my beloved bride)

  * Then she gently pushes him on his back: “your turn to close your eyes, now, my love. He smiles: “mmm I like the sound of that”. He closes his eyes. She begins kissing him, his lips, his chest. She licks his earlobes, near his neck. He moans. She keeps kissing and lightly caressing his body with her fingertips and nails, until she reaches his crotch. She softly caresses his inner thighs, his testicles, his buttocks. He moans more heavily now. Meanwhile she is giving him many soft kisses, all around and on his erection. Then she takes him into her mouth. His moans become deeper. She gives him small gentle sucks at first, then she makes them deeper, longer, and more frequent. He begins panting heavily. She accelerates the rhythm, until he moves her head sideways. She moves her hand on his penis quickly a few times until he floods his abdomen. She keeps moving her hand on him gently until he is finished. He keeps his eyes closed for several more seconds, then he opens his eyes and looks at her lovingly: “my love, that was wonderful. You are so good at it!”, she smiles at him sweetly. They kiss softly and lovingly. Then she gets up and grabs a small towel to clean him.
  * They lay on the bed, hugging for a while. Her head in the crook of his neck. Her arm on his chest. His arms around her. Both very content. She lifts her head towards him. They kiss, softly initially, then more and more sexually again, he begins touching her body again. She touches him. He gets another erection. She massages him. He stimulates her: “mmm… what do you think, time to finally consummate this marriage, my love?”, she smiles sweetly: “indeed”. He sits up. She sits on him, they make love in their beloved seated position until they come together, kissing and hugging each other. Then they lay on the bed again. They fall asleep. It has been a long day, after all. That night they wake up and make love, several times. When the morning light begins entering the bedroom, they are deep asleep, hugging. They wake up late and make love again: “my beloved groom, we are really insatiable today”, “is that a complaint, my bride?”, she kisses him sensually: “what do you think?”, “mmm it doesn’t feel like a complaint”. They both laugh sweetly and keep kissing, and touching each other until she pulls him onto her and they make love again.

  * Eventually they get up and wash. She opens the suitcase and looks inside: “here are clothes we can wear today”, he smiles at her naughtily: “thank you love, but I must say I prefer you without!”, she laughs: “I prefer you without too, my silly gampro’, but not in the dining room downstairs!”. They both laugh, dress, and go for breakfast. They are late but Christina serves them breakfast anyway: “thank you, we appreciate your flexibility with breakfast time”, she smiles: “not a problem, I am used to couples on honeymoon”. Louisa blushes, Christina continues: “and you are my only clients so I can definitely be flexible for you”, Spiros smiles: “thank you!”, “will you be here for lunch?”, Louisa nods: “very likely, we were thinking of going to the beach for a bit this morning”, he looks at Louisa with sweet eyes: “but not too long, because my fair English bride sunburns easily”, Christina smiles: “very good, then when you return from the beach I can make you lunch. I will be around the house, so just call for me then”, “perfect, thank you very much, let’s get ready, then, nyfi mou”, “nai gampro’ mou”. They go back upstairs.

(trnsl: gampro’ = groom; nyfi = bride; mou = my; nai = yes)

  * Louisa laughs: “we’d better finish unpacking now”, he hugs her and smiles at her naughtily: “yes, for some reason we were too busy so far”. They laugh and kiss, then she opens the suitcase and they begin hanging their clothes in the wardrobe: “the children have packed sensibly. These are clothes we’d want to wear at a beach resort”, “of course! You should grant them more sense than you do, my dear, your children are such great people”, she smiles: “I know”, then she laughs: “here you go, our slippers, beach towels, and robes are here too, even my very wide sun-covering hat”, he is holding a man bathing costume in his hands: “perfect, we can use them this morning”, she has reached the bottom of the suitcase now: “oh, there are two wrapped gifts!”, he looks intrigued now: “this has your name, and this mine”, she hands him his, which is obviously a book. She opens her gift. She laughs, very blushed: “look at this!”, she has a very sexy black laced night dress with sexy see-through black lingerie in one hand and a bikini in her other hand. Spiros laughs and smiles at her sweetly: “as promised!!”, she laughs too: “oh I don’t know that I can wear these!”, he hugs her and kisses her sensually: “you are usually not very embarrassed with me, my nyfi”, “of course not, my love, but the bikini is for a public beach. There may be other men”, “he kisses her again: “oh it gives me pride if other men look at your beauty and I know it’s for my own use only”, she smiles at him: “of course I am only for you… and I like to think I have full ownership over you!”, he smiles at her very lovingly: “indeed, my love, I am only yours, and your children have packed these modern and rather revealing shorts for me. Not an old-fashioned one-piece tank top and shorts”, she smiles naughtily: “mmm I like that”, he returns the naughty smile: “and I like the idea of you in a bikini”, she smiles, blushed: “fine, fine, I will wear it, then”, he laughs: “either that or nothing at all. The children have not packed your other bathing costume, my love”, she smirks: “so they haven’t”, they both laugh and kiss again, he looks at her with very mischievous eyes now: “and I will be very happy when you wear those other gifts they got you”, she blushes: “oh… they are so sexy…”, “my point exactly, I will love to take those off you”, she smiles sweetly, still blushed, “I so love it when you blush with me, my love, even after all of these months of not-so-innocent life together”, she smiles and looks at him lovingly: “I know it’s silly, but I can’t help it”, he looks at her with very loving eyes: “not silly, rather, very sweet, my love”, they kiss.
  * “open your gift now, love, I am curious to see what book that is”, “it seems strange they’d give me a book. There is no such a thing as reading a book while on honeymoon!”, they giggle, he unwraps the book, then laughs aloud: “a very practical book, from your beloved India, perfect for honeymoon, actually”, he hands it to her. She looks at it, then she laughs and blushes again: “the Kama Sutra!”. They both laugh: “I am sure it was Larry’s idea!”, “yes, of your 4 children this definitely carries Larry’s imprint!”, they laugh: “how did he even get hold of it? It’s a censored book in Greece”, “and in England!”, she turns it around. The back cover has writing in French: “here is your answer, it’s from France, the only country that would publish Larry’s latest book with all of those explicit sex passages”, they both laugh, “the countess would be proud of her country!”, she blushes: “she does not need to know about this!”, he laughs sweetly: “of course not!”. He takes the book from her hands and opens the first few pages: “it’s written in French, English, and… I don’t know this”, she leans towards it: “and Hindi”, “so you can read it in all 3 languages!”, she blushes: “yes I can, but should I?”. He flips through the pages until he finds several very explicit figures: “I don’t see why not. We may find some interesting ideas we may want to try in here”, he approaches her and hugs her tightly, they kiss again, quite sensually: “mmm, let’s go to the beach for a bit, my love, I think I need some rest before we implement any of those”, he looks at her lovingly: “as my beloved wife desires”, she smiles sweetly at him: “you must be tired too”, he looks down: “I must admit this boy is a bit sore after all that activity. Some rest on the beach will help”, they smile at each other lovingly, kiss, then she takes the book and hides it in the suitcase, “it’d be way too embarrassing if Christina was to find it!”, they laugh, “indeed!”.

  * They wear their bathing costumes, their robes, her large hat, and their beach slippers, then they walk to the beach carrying a soft basket with their towels. “Oh this is so lovely”, she is looking at the very secluded beach. It has beautiful white sand, a few rocks, including a semi submerged large rock on one side, and a few palm trees, “it is very beautiful, it matches your beauty perfectly!”, she looks at him with loving eyes: “always very romantic”, “it’s because I love you so much, Louisa”, she smiles at him: “I love you very much too, Spiro”. They hug and kiss. Then they open two long beach chairs, put them side by side, and place their towels on them. He takes his robe off and sits on one long chair, in his swimming shorts, then he looks at her sweetly: “time to take your robe off too, my shy lady”, she looks at him sweetly and blushes, “we are alone, my love, you can relax. Christina said there are no other guests in the hotel”, she smiles and she takes her robe off, revealing her bikini. He looks at her, mesmerized: “oh my God, I am happy I am tired. That would cause quite the response on me, otherwise”, she smiles sweetly: “stop pulling my leg, Spiro”, she sits on the long beach chair next to him, “I was not teasing you at all, my love. I meant every word!”, he leans towards her and kisses her, “you are so sexy, that I want to make love to you right now”, she smiles sweetly: “I thought you said you were tired”, he makes a mischievous smile: “I have already forgotten about that!”, they both laugh.
  * They sit for a few minutes, then he gets up and looks at her lovingly: “let’s go for a swim agapimeni nyfi mou”, he takes her hand and lifts her off her long chair. They walk to the shore hand in hand. His fingers interlaced with hers. It is early in the year, and the water is still rather cold. As they step in it, she screams: “oh, it’s colder than I thought!”, he laughs: “but you are English! English visitors are known to swim in water so cold that Greeks would not go near it!”, she replies sounding a bit cross: “well, don’t forget that I am Anglo-Indian and I find this water bloody cold!”, they both laugh, then he suddenly picks her up. She is startled and screams: “ah!”, he laughs and runs into the water, holding her in his arms. She is laughing and screaming: “don’t you dare, Spiro, don’t you…”, she is holding onto him tightly now, her arms around his neck. He stops in deeper water, holding her high up. He gives her a kiss” “don’t worry my love, I won’t drop you”, then he kneels with her in his arms, getting her completely wet. She screams again: “ahhhhh!!”, then she turns towards him: “you traitor! My revenge will be slow and very, very, cruel!”, she begins throwing water at him. He swims near her and grabs her waist: “and my revenge will be slow and very, very, loving, my beautiful bride”, he kisses her. She returns his hug, kisses him, then she smiles and looks at him sweetly: “mmm I am liking this revenge, I can take more of it”, they kiss again, a long love kiss, “the water doesn’t feel as cold after the first impact”, he looks at her lovingly: “it’s the warmth of love, my beautiful mermaid”, she smiles sweetly: “yes, it must be that, my romantic Poseidon”. They swim for a while, laughing and throwing water at each other. As they play in the water, they keep stopping for loving hugs and kisses, holding their bodies very close to each other.

(trnsl: my beloved bride)

  * They are standing behind a large semi-submerged rock now, hidden from the beach. The water is at the height of their shoulders. He hugs her tightly: “mmm can you feel it?”, she can clearly feel his erection against her body, she laughs sweetly: “even in this cold water?”, “it must be that bikini, my love, I can’t resist you in it”, she reaches down with her hand and touches him through his bathing costume. He reaches down too. He puts his hand inside her bikini and begins caressing and stimulating her, gently pressing on her clitoris. She moans: “my beloved groom, you are being very, very, naughty”, he kisses her sensually, then smiles naughtily: “your fault, my nyfi, you touched me first”, he takes her hand and puts it inside his bathing costume, through the flap. She begins moving her hand on his erection, slowly. He moans and continues stimulating her, with his fingers inside of her now. She moans and accelerates the movements of her hand on him. He moans deeply: “now you are being really naughty my dear bride”, she kisses him sensually: “so are you, my bad, bad, groom”, “you say that because you don’t know how much naughtier I can be”, he pushes his shorts down his thighs, then he lifts her up and brings her onto him. He moves her bikini to the side and enters her easily. She is very ready. She moans and wraps her legs around him, standing in the water, hidden behind the large rock. They begin moving, slowly at first, then more and more intensely, until they both come with deep sighs. Afterwards, they kiss lovingly for a while: “well, this was a first for me, gampro’ mou”, “even for me, and I liked it!”, she still has her legs around his pelvis, holding him inside of her. She smiles and kisses him sweetly: “me too”, “then we must make sure it is not the last time, my bride”, “well, we are staying here for a full week, my beloved husband…”, “mmm I am liking how you think, my naughty nyfi”.
  * They smile and kiss again for a while. More and more sensually. She can feel him harden again inside of her. He starts thrusting into her. She moans and moves on him, pushing deeply. They keep moving until they both come again. Then they kiss lovingly: “oh my God, I can’t believe how many times we are doing it”, he smiles sweetly: “is that a problem?”, she smiles too: “not at all, I was just making an observation”. They both giggle: “we might as well stop counting them, agapi mou”, “oh, I have already stopped counting. It was at some point last night, agapimeno gampro’ mou”. They laugh again. As he exits her, a fair bit of his semen gets in the clear seawater. Several small fishes begin eating it, she laughs: “we are feeding the wildlife!”, he laughs too: “it’d make Gerry proud”, she looks at him seriously, then speaks with stern voice: “he is never, ever, to learn about this!”, he laughs sweetly: “of course not! All that happens on this trip shall remain between the two of us, my love”, she is blushed now: “it’d better!”. They laugh and hug and kiss, still standing in the water. The fish around them. Eating.

  * Eventually, they exit the water and go back to their long beach chairs. They lay in the sun to dry and warm up after the cold water. They relax and both doze off, holding hands. After several minutes, he wakes up and checks his watch. Then he shakes her gently: “my love, you will sunburn if you are not careful. Your skin is turning pink”, she wakes up: “oh, I fell asleep”, “so did I. It must have been all that activity in the water”, she laughs sweetly: “and last night, very tiring”, he smiles lovingly: “not to mention the little sleep we had, my love”. They smile at each other and kiss, he continues: “yes, all very tiring and energy consuming. I must say I have worked up quite the appetite, what do you think my fair/pink English lady, shall we look into getting some lunch?”. They get up, wear their robes, and walk back to the hotel.

  * After lunch, they decide to take a walk along a nice path that goes up to the top of the cliff that overlooks their beach. The weather is very nice. Warm but not too hot, so they really enjoy their walk. They sit on a bench by the edge of the top of the cliff. The view over the Corfu and Greek coastlines is beautiful. They look down. He leans forward. She holds him by the back of his trousers and sounding scared, she screams: “that’s quite high, don’t do that my love!”, he sits back, puts his arm around her shoulders, and kisses her: “yes, my love, don’t worry, I was just checking something”, he has a naughty look now, she looks puzzled: “what?”, “I was making sure that ‘our’ lovemaking spot in the water is not visible from above”, she blushes: “I really hope so. It’d be really embarrassing if someone could see us earlier!”, he laughs: “embarrassing and illegal. There are fines for public indecency in Greece”, she looks worried now: “even in England!”, she gets up and looks down over the edge of the cliff, “he grabs her hand and holds her back. Careful my love, I don’t like that you are leaning forward so much”, she sits back next to him, looking relieved: “that spot is not visible at all”, he smiles: “I know, that’s good!”, she laughs: “yes, very good”, he looks at her with a naughty smile: “it’s good to know for future activities…”, she giggles: “that’s exactly what I meant!”, he gives her a tender kiss: “such a naughty bride I have”, they laugh again.
  * They look into each other’s eyes, hug and kiss. He begins kissing her neck and touching her breasts through her clothes. Then he puts a hand under her skirt, reaching for her sex. She giggles sweetly: “and I have a naughty groom”, they kiss again, sensually. She looks down. His trousers are suspiciously lifted. She smiles: “really very naughty”, she undoes his flap’s buttons, reaches inside his trousers, and begins moving her hand along his hard length. He moves her knickers with his hand and begins moving his fingers inside of her. They both moan as they keep stimulating each other while kissing sensually, their mouths muffling their increasingly deep sighs. After a while she takes a very deep breath, then she exhales forcefully, her body tightening around his fingers as she reaches her climax. In that same moment, he reaches his, filling her hand. For a few minutes, they lean with their heads against each other, catching their breath. Then, she removes her hand from his trousers and moves his hand away from her. She cleans her hand with her handkerchief: “let’s walk back before someone walks up that path and sees us. I don’t really fancy being charged with the crime of public indecency”, she gets up and takes a few steps away from him. He is cleaning himself with his handkerchief and laughs: “especially if we end up in court again with the same judge”, she really blushes now: “I don’t even want to think about that possibility!”, he gets up, walks up to her, hugs her, and kisses her. She returns his hug and kisses. He begins touching her again, “enough my love, behave yourself, let’s walk now”, he giggles: “fine, fine, let’s go back, then. There is a certain book I want to study back at the hotel”, they laugh as they walk back, happily holding hands, their fingers interlaced. As they walk, they frequently stop to exchange loving kisses.
  * When they get back to the hotel they go to their room. It has been done nicely, with fresh sheets in the bed, “that looks too nice, my love, we should mess it up again”, he kisses her neck and starts unbuttoning her blouse. She giggles, then kisses him sensually, while reaching for his trousers. She takes them off him, then smiles sweetly: “I can’t believe you are so turned on again, my love”, meanwhile he has removed her skirt and is reaching inside her underwear: “what I am feeling right now is not that turned _off_ either, my love”, he inserts his fingers in her, she moans, he takes her to the bed, they undress each other, and make love.

  * During dinner they keep cooing very lovingly, talking, smiling, laughing, giggling, and kissing. Louisa notices that Christina is watching them. She blushes: “behave love, I think we may be upsetting our hostess”. Christina has just approached them to collect their dirty plates and hears that: “oh, don’t worry, I am used to having couples on honeymoon here. That does not bother me at all. I actually think that love like yours is beautiful. Rather, I apologize for staring”, Spiros smiles: “was there anything you wanted to tell us?”, “well, yes, when I first saw you yesterday I thought I had seen you before. Then today I remembered where. So I looked into a pile of old papers and found this. She shows them a Greek newspaper with a photo of the two of them at the trial for Hugh’s assault. Louisa looks surprised: “I didn’t know we ended up in the paper! Did you know it Spiro?”, he looks into her eyes: “I did. There were a few articles in the Greek papers in those days”, she sounds a bit upset now: “and you did not tell me about them?”, “sorry, love, you know that I usually don’t hide things from you. It’s just that back then you were quite upset about the whole thing and your PTS was still rather bad. I thought you did not need the added stress of knowing it was being so public”, she looks at Christina: “may I?”, “of course!”, she hands her the newspaper: “I am sorry if this brings back bad memories. I feel really bad for bringing it up, now. You looked so happy a moment ago”, she smiles: “don’t worry Christina. I _am_ still happy. I am fine. My Post Traumatic Stress is almost completely recovered now. I am just curious to see what they wrote about us”, “I am happy to learn that you are well now, Mrs. Halikiopoulou!”, she takes the dirty plates and cutlery and walks away. Louisa reads a few words, but she struggles, “I am afraid my Greek is still not up to this. Mind translating, love?”, he takes the newspaper, reads the first part, then translates: “a trial of violence, intrigue, and sin was conducted in our town yesterday. A long-time British resident, Mrs. Louisa Durrell and her Greek lover Mr. Spyridon Halikiopoulos won a sexual assault trial against another long-term British resident of Greek descent, Mr. Hugh Jarvis. The judge, a long-term British resident himself, found Mr. Jarvis guilty of sexual assault and gave him a hefty 8-yr jail sentence. Mr. Halikiopoulos, instead, was exonerated from the charge of violence. It was acknowledged that he intervened to defend his lover from assault”.
  * Spiros reads the text ahead, then looks up at her: “you are not going to like the next part, my love”, “go on, please, I should know what they say”, he continues: “as repeatedly pointed out by Mr. Jarvis’ lawyer, Mrs. Durrell and Mr. Halikiopoulos have been living together for several months, fornicating outside of wedlock. Although we are happy that sexual assault would be punished severely, we think that such sinful behavior has brought the trouble to Mrs. Durrell. In view of her conduct with Mr. Halikiopoulos, Mr. Jarvis may be excused to think she’d be available to fornicate with him as well”, she looks upset now, “I am sorry love, I should stop translating”, “no please, continue, love, I am not upset”, he looks at her sweetly: “yes you are, you can’t hide it from me, love”, she smiles: “well, maybe I am a little upset, but I will be fine, love, please continue”.
  * “We wish foreign residents were more respectful of our morals and customs. This particular case is especially troublesome because Mr. Halikiopoulos has left his Corfiot wife and young children to enter the sinful relationship with Mrs. Durrell. This should remind our readers that they should protect their families from such homewrecking temptresses and be weary of foreign women interfering with our established societal system. Several people present at the trial shared this view. We find it troubling, though, that many clapped at the verdict and seemed sympathetic to the couple. Mrs. Durrell and Mr. Halikiopoulos have been quite public about their sinful relationship over the past several months. We worry that such disruption of our morals may bring a bad example to our youth and society. We wish our government intervened with the promulgation and application of strict laws of moral conduct”, he looks up at her, worried that she’d be upset: “my love, this is a very conservative newspaper, well known to lean towards fascist and Nazi ideologies. Articles in other papers were much less negative about us. Some were actually quite sympathetic. Now I wish I had saved those articles so that you could see the whole range”, she looks at him sweetly: “don’t worry my love, that article is not any worse than what some English papers would write. I knew it all along that that was what many people around us thought. I can live with that disapproval. I take responsibility for my own behavior. I have always believed morality does not come from society. It is what we feel inside and I know how I feel about you. Our love is beautiful. Not sinful, not even when we make love”, he smiles at her sweetly: “I couldn’t agree more, Louisa. Our relationship is never sinful, because we always put so much love in everything we do together”, they are looking at each other sweetly, now, their eyes full of love, “and now that both Dimitra and I are remarried and have moved on, people should care a lot less about us. After all, we are a legitimate couple now. Even the priest has agreed to marry us in church”, he reaches for her hand on the table and looks at her very lovingly: “and we are on honeymoon. Please, let’s not allow this to spoil our happiness”, she smiles at him sweetly: “it won’t, my love. I promise”, they kiss.

  * Christina is watching from the counter. She approaches them: “would you like dessert? I have made baklava and galaktoboureko”, “oh, I love galaktoboureko, but I am afraid it will be too much”, “not a problem, Mrs. Halikiopoulou, I can give you a small slice”, Spiros makes a big smile: “instead I’d like one of each, baklava and galaktoboureko”, Spiros hands her the newspaper: “we are done with this, thank you”, “I hope it wasn’t too upsetting, Mrs. Halikiopoulou, this newspaper can be rather extreme in its views. You should know that many of us were on your side. I am personally happy with the outcome of the trial and even happier to see the two of you here, as a happily married couple”, “thank you Christina, I appreciate that”, as Christina leaves, Louisa looks at Spiros, laughing: “_two_ desserts for you, my love?”, he smiles naughtily: “I need energies to face our second honeymoon night, my love”, she laughs: “oh, if those are your plans for tonight, then I should have got the larger slice of galaktoboureko!”, they both laugh, smile sweetly, and kiss.

  * After dinner they retire to their bedroom. She goes to the bathroom. Meanwhile he wears his pajamas, takes the book from the suitcase, and reads it in bed. He is staring at one of the figures trying to imagine how such position could be achievable. Louisa exits the bathroom. She is wearing her bathrobe and is very blushed. He looks at her puzzled: “what?”, she looks back at him with a tight smile: “what?”, “hey, I said that first! You look all strange, what are you up to, my love?”, she smiles at him sweetly then blushes: “this”, she takes her robe off. She is wearing the very sexy night dress, with the sexy see-through black lingerie the children have got her, “oh my God, Louisa, you can’t do that to me without warning!”, she laughs shyly, standing there, looking at him with a sexy gaze. He lifts the bed covers: “see?”, a clear erection is lifting his pajamas, she laughs sweetly, “that happened instantaneously, my temptress!”, she giggles and approaches the bed smiling. She points at the book: “well, you were preparing for it!”, he laughs, then reaches for her waist and pulls her towards him. He kisses her cleavage, “my love, you look so sexy with those on!”. She joins him in bed. He immediately starts kissing her and touching her. His lips and hands all over her body. She can feel them through the very thin lingerie and moans. He easily moves her lingerie aside and reaches for her sex: “it seems I have found my much-desired treasure trove”, she smiles: “mmm, it seems this lingerie made that hunt very easy”, he starts touching her sex now, she moans. She reaches for him inside his pajamas and massages him for a while. Then she helps him undress until he is naked. She bends down and starts kissing his sex. He moans, then takes her night dress and lingerie off, lifts her up and puts her in a 69 position. He begins kissing, and licking her sex. She takes him in her mouth. They continue giving each other pleasure until she comes with very deep sighs. When she is finished, she continues with her mouth on him until he moves her head and comes too. It doesn’t take long. He was very, very, close.
  * She reaches for a small towel sitting on the night table and cleans him up. Then they lay in bed, hugging, both very contented. After a while she sits with her back against the headboard and picks up the book: “so what were you looking at, my groom?”, she smiles: “anything I should know? Anything I should worry about?”, he looks at her with a naughty smile: “maybe…”, he sits up next to her and starts flipping through the pages, stopping on several of the images. They both look at them with great curiosity. He sounds perplexed: “for some of them I find it hard to imagine how they work”, she giggles: “and some require acrobatic skills neither of us have”, they laugh and kiss: “but some seem more feasible”, she looks intrigued now: “for example?”, he stops on a page: “this”, then he flips a few more: “or this”, she is looking: “how about this?”, he looks at her: “I am liking your approach to the book, my bride”, she laughs sweetly: “I don’t see why we shouldn’t try new ideas. We are on honeymoon, after all”, they kiss, more and more sensually until he gets another erection. He touches and stimulates her until she is ready again. Then they try one of the positions in the book with him sitting and her straddling him, facing away from him, with her back arched to facilitate penetration. He holds her buttocks while she lays on his legs with her forearms. The position is quite enjoyable and after much moving, and moaning they come together.
  * Then they lay in bed, hugging, “so what did you think of our first experiment, my bride?”, “well it was fun…”, he smiles: “and the outcome quite enjoyable”, “yes for both of us”, “I sense there is a _but_._.._”, she smiles sweetly: “there is my groom, and I sense you have a _but_ too”, he answers with sweet voice: “yes, so what is it, my love?”, “you go first gampro’ mou”, he speaks lovingly: “well, I couldn’t look at you, and I couldn’t hug you”, she smiles sweetly: “that’s my _but_ too. It was very pleasurable, but not very romantic”, he speaks with sweet voice: “not very bonding, to use a term both of our doctors use”, she looks into his eyes very lovingly: “exactly, I like to look at you and to hug you when we make love, Spiro”, he looks back at her with loving eyes: “me too, because I love you”, “and I love you”.

  * They cuddle, hugging each other, and fall asleep in that very bonding position. They sleep most of the night, catching up on lost sleep from the previous night. They wake up early the next morning, still hugging. She wakes up first and lays quietly, to avoid waking him. She enjoys that position, her face on his bare manly chest, her naked body against his. After a while he wakes up too: “good morning, my sweet love”, she raises her head and kisses him: “good morning, my love”, then she lays on his chest again, quiet, “you are quiet, my love, is anything worrying you?”, “not at all, I am just happy, savoring this moment. I love waking up on you, our naked bodies against each other”, “careful how you word that, my love, I may get funny ideas”, she giggles: “I was actually not talking about those funny ideas, my love”, she raises her head and kisses him again, he smiles at her sweetly: “what were you talking about, then?”, she answers with sweet and soft voice: “I like the sense of intimacy and closeness that comes from hugging your naked body with mine”, he answers with very sweet voice: “me too, I like that there are no barriers between us, not even the thin fabric of clothes”, “exactly, just me and you”, she lifts her head and they kiss again, “then we might as well stop using pajamas all together”, she laughs sweetly: “you are being silly”, he begins caressing her naked body, more and more sensually: “just silly?”, she giggles: “…and naughty…”, he replies with loving voice: “it’s your fault, your beauty is absolutely irresistible”, she speaks with sweet voice: “silly, naughty, and romantic, my most preferred combination of Spyridon Halikiopoulos’ ingredients”, he smiles: “let’s see what we can cook up when we mix those ingredients with yours: clever, sweet, and so very sexy!”, he continues caressing her with very light touches, her body begins responding with light shivers. She caresses his body too, he responds with a clear erection. They continue touching each other, more and more sensually, until he approaches her from above, she opens herself to him. He enters her. They make love, hugging and kissing tenderly. She closes her eyes and allows him to take charge. She relaxes fully, giving herself to him completely, without holding anything back. He holds her in his arms lovingly and moves on her the way he knows she likes, until they both come.
  * Afterwards they lay hugging quietly for a while, enjoying the post-pleasure moment. Then Louisa whispers: “my love, we may very well try more of those positions in the book, but in my mind, nothing beats this level of tenderness”, he is holding her in his arms. He reaches for her lips and kisses her softly: “I couldn’t agree more, my love”, she smiles at him: “this is your philosophy in action, my love. Body love can be very enjoyable, but it is much, much, more pleasurable when the heart and the brain are in it too”, he smiles at her very sweetly, they kiss again: “the difference between having sex and making love”, she smiles sweetly: “exactly”, they kiss again, then he whispers: “and don’t forget depth, my love”, she looks into his eyes very lovingly: “yes, all 3 loves I feel for you are very, very, deep”, he answers with very sweet, loving voice: “me too, Louisa”, he kisses her tenderly, then he makes a naughty smile: “very, very, deep, figuratively and also literally, especially in these past couple of days”, she giggles: “deep, indeed!”, he wraps his arms around her tightly: “mmm… I so love it when you giggle like that”, she smiles at him very sweetly. She leans towards his lips and they exchange a loving kiss. They lay in bed for quite some time, enjoying the tenderness. After a while they make love again, in their seated position. Then, they get up, wash, dress, and go for breakfast.

  * In the next days, they keep enjoying their honeymoon. Every morning they go back to the small private beach of their hotel, swim in the clear sea, and end up making love in the water, hidden behind the large rock. They also go on walks along the long beach by the village of Kavos. Little by little she gets a tan too. Her skin acquires a beautiful golden color and looks beautiful next to his tanned olive skin. Louisa seems more and more comfortable in her bikini. She walks in it, wearing her large hat for sun protection, holding hands with Spiros. She doesn’t seem to mind it when they cross path with other people, including other men. He laughs: “that man would not stop looking at you my love”, she laughs too: “even his wife noticed that and she did not look happy at all!”, he smiles at her naughtily: “well, how would you feel if I looked at other women?”, she smiles: “it’d depend on the look!”, they laugh, “fair enough, I’d be fine if you looked at other men, but with limits!”, she laughs: “my point exactly, I don’t expect you to be suddenly blind to womankind, but I do expect you to control how you look at other women”, he smiles sweetly at her: “you are the only one I want, my love, I don’t even notice other women”, she laughs: “you are such a bad liar”, he stops walking, turns towards her, hugs her, and makes big puppy eyes: “but it is the truth, I don’t want other women, I love you!”, she returns his hug and smiles at him very lovingly: “oh I like to think I can believe that. I don’t believe you won’t notice them, though!” they both laugh. They kiss tenderly. They continue walking and cross path with another couple, “this time _she_ would not stop looking at _you_, my handsome groom in sexy shorts!”, he laughs: “does it bother you?”, she smiles: “not really, as long as she just watches and you don’t reciprocate her interest!”, they both laugh. They stop, hug, and exchange a long kiss, their tanned bodies held very close to each other, their feet reached by the small waves of a beautifully calm Ionian Sea. 

  * In the afternoons, they take little excursions. They either go on walks from their hotel, or drive around, exploring the south end of the island. When they do that they take their beach gear along and eventually stop on small beautiful beaches to lay down, rest, and coo sweetly. At this time of the year it is not difficult to find beaches where they can be completely alone. On one such beach they wear their bathing costumes and take a swim. Then they sit on a towel, smooching. Then they take out a few fruit snacks and drinks that Christina has prepared for them. She leans her head on his shoulder: “these days are being so lovely, Spiro, I will be sorry to go back”, they kiss again: “me too, I am really enjoying this time alone with you. We need to make sure we do this again. We don’t need a honeymoon as an excuse for a romantic holiday together”, they kiss again: “so true, we should make it a habit to take time off for ourselves”, he looks at her naughtily: “go somewhere for a few days and make love like crazy”, she laughs sweetly: “that sure is one way of describing these past few days”, they hug and kiss again. He begins touching her. She touches him. They look around. There is a large rock near the cliff at one end of the beach. They look at each other and smile. They don’t need to say anything. They get up, pick up their beach gear, and walk to the rock. He lays the towel down, they sit on it and start kissing and touching each other, more and more sensually, until they lay down, take off their swimming costumes, and make love, hidden behind the large rock, covered only by a beach towel.

  * The next day, Louisa is in the bathroom, getting ready for their afternoon excursion. Spiros is ready. He leaves their bedroom quietly. When he returns Louisa is sitting on the bed, all ready to leave. She laughs sweetly: “my love, we have been officially married by Greek law for less than a week and you already sneak out of our bedroom without telling me!”, he sits on the bed next to her, hugs her and kisses her lovingly: “I hope you will be able to forgive me, my beloved bride, and you won’t apply for divorce for this”, she smiles sweetly: “it depends…”, he smiles too: “on what?”, she giggles: “on what you are prepared to do to earn my forgiveness”, he reaches for her lips and gives her a long kiss, “can this do?”, she laughs: “almost…”, he wraps her in his arms and hugs her tightly. Then he gives her another long kiss, much more sensual this time. She hugs him back and whispers: “this was much, much, better”, he reaches behind her back and pulls her blouse out of her skirt, then he puts his hands on the bare skin of her back and caresses her softly. She moans. He kisses her again: “I am happy to continue, my love. Anything to earn your forgiveness”, she laughs sweetly and happily returns his kiss: “so why did you leave the room?”, he makes a very Spiros-typical big happy smile: “I went to the lobby to ask Christina whether we could prolong our stay here”, she looks surprised, he smiles at her sweetly and continues: “yesterday you said you are loving this romantic time together. Well, so am I! Very, very, much…”, he kisses her again and caresses her bare back, putting his hand under her bra’s strap, then he continues: “so I thought, why not extend it?”, he kisses her again. A long loving kiss. She smiles sweetly: “what did Christina say?”, “that we can stay as long as we wish, so I’ve told her I was going to talk with you first, but we’d likely prolong our stay. What do you think, my love, would you like that? I was thinking of adding 3 days to our honeymoon” she smiles at him very lovingly, then whispers: “yes, I’d like that very much!”, “then we should do it!”, “but we don’t have enough cash on us to pay for the additional nights”, “Christina says she’d accept a cheque from us”, she smiles and kisses him: “thank you for inquiring, love, I really like the idea”, he kisses her: “it’s decided, then, we will leave on Wednesday instead of Sunday. We can let Christina know as we leave for our afternoon excursion”, he moves his hands on her bare skin, under her blouse, then makes a naughty smile: “unless you prefer to stay here. I‘d be happy to continue working on earning your forgiveness, my beloved bride”, she smiles and kisses him sweetly: “let’s go on our excursion, my love. We also need to stop at the post office in Kavos”.

  * That afternoon Spiros takes Louisa on an excursion at the south-west tip of the island. He drives the car up a long winding dirt road, until the road becomes so broken that they can’t continue. He parks on the side of the road. They get off the car: “where are we, love, where have you taken me?”, he smiles sweetly: “it’s a surprise, just trust me”, she makes a funny smile: “can I?”, he laughs: “your call, my beloved nyfi”, he reaches for her waist, gently pulls her towards him, and gives her a long kiss. As he kisses her, his tongue reaches into her mouth and begins exploring it. She happily responds to that. His hands begin stroking her back, reaching her hips and pulling her into him. She can feel his erection, she smiles: “how am I supposed to trust you? You seem to have naughty intentions”, he keeps kissing her and mumbles into her mouth: “I sure do. The decision lays with you now. Either you do or do not trust me and follow me on this excursion”, she giggles and pats the bump in his trousers: “let’s go then, agapimeno gampro’ mou*”. He picks up their beach basket and they walk along a narrow path. As they walk, he grabs her hand and interlaces his fingers with hers. She smiles sweetly at him.

(*trnsl: my beloved groom)

  * After a while they reach the top of the hill where they find the ruins of an old monastery. Only the main walls, and a mullioned window right over a door, still stand. He looks at her: “welcome to the Monastery of The Blessed Virgin Mary, my beloved English tourist”, she makes a happy smile: “oh I love this, let’s go inside and explore it!”, he smiles at her sweetly and walks through the door, still holding her hand. They walk through the old church, which is overgrown with vegetation. She looks happy, like an excited little girl: “look, stairs, let’s go up!”. He puts their beach basket down, then he follows her up a set of narrow stairs until the stairs end against a partly collapsed wall. She climbs on top of the wall. Spiros reaches her and puts his arm around the small of her back. The view over the Corfu coastline and the Ionian Sea is very beautiful. She turns around towards him. “this is marvelous, my love, thank you for taking me here”. She looks at him very sweetly and puts her arms around his neck. She leans towards him and reaches his lips with hers. They kiss. A long soft kiss: “I love you”, “I love you too”. Then they go back down the stairs and continue walking, holding hands and carrying their beach basket.
  * They reach a courtyard with an old well with a wide stone rim, which, like the rest of the monastery, is overgrown with vegetation. She leans forward and looks inside: “there is still water. I wonder whether it is drinkable”, he wraps his arms around her middle, hugging her from behind: “I don’t know and I wouldn’t try it”, she smiles, turns around and hugs him. They kiss again. Then he suddenly lifts her up and sits her on the well’s wide rim. She is startled: “ha”, “careful my love, don’t lean backwards. I wouldn’t want you to fall inside”, she laughs: “then why did you put me here? Are you already trying to get rid of your wife?”, he looks at her with a sweet and naughty smile: “I have put you here for the best of reasons…”, he kisses her again, his tongue finding hers. While holding her with a hand behind her back to make sure she does not, indeed, fall into the well, he puts his other hand under her skirt and begins stroking her thighs. She keeps kissing him, enjoying the light touches. He continues kissing her, shifting his attention to her ear lobes, her neck, and her cleavage, all the while slowly moving his hand up along the inside of her thighs. As he reaches higher and higher, she begins moaning. He finds her sex and touches her through her underwear. Her breathing becomes shorter. He moves her knickers to the side and enters her with his fingers. She is very ready for it, already quite wet. She begins moaning more deeply. Still holding her behind her back, he slips her knickers down her legs and removes them. He pulls her skirt up to her waist and puts her legs over his shoulders. Then he puts his hands on her hips and bends towards her, his head between her thighs. He reaches her sex and begins kissing and licking it. Her moans grow louder: “go ahead, my love, nobody can hear us here”, she seems to like the idea and begins making much louder noises, the way she never does. He keeps licking her, alternating between her clitoris and her sex. She is moaning really loudly now: “oh my God, that is marvelous, my love”, her body shaking lightly. He reaches down with one hand and enters her with his fingers, while gently sucking on her clitoris. Her moans intensify and her breath becomes shorter and shorter, until he suddenly feels her tighten around his fingers and her hands stiffen on his head, her fingers clasped into his hair. Then she screams: “Spiroooooo!!!”, and flops backwards, on her elbows. He continues touching her gently while she comes down from her high. Then he lowers her legs and has her sit. He looks at her sweetly. Her eyes are still closed, her mouth partly open, panting heavily, her face flushed, her lips swollen: “I don’t think there is a better sight on this whole island than you in this very moment, my love”, she opens her eyes, still trying to catch her breath. She smiles at him, he reaches her mouth and they kiss. A long soft kiss. Then, she hugs him quietly, relaxing. Her head against his chest. He wraps her in his arms and kisses her hair lovingly, then he whispers in her ear: “all forgiven?”, still in a post-orgasmic daze she seems confused: “what?”, he smiles sweetly: “for sneaking out of our bedroom earlier. All forgiven?”, she smiles sweetly: “yes, all _very_ forgiven”, he makes a happy smile. Then they hug and kiss lovingly for several minutes.
  * She reaches down for his crotch. She finds a rather sizeable swelling under his trousers and makes a sweet smile. She undoes the buttons and puts her hand down his underwear. She finds a large erection, wraps her hand around it and begins moving it up and down, slowly at first, then with increasing speed. He holds onto her, his face in the crook of her neck, panting more and more heavily. Then he stops her hand and pulls her closer to the edge of the well’s rim. She pushes his suspenders, trousers, and underwear down. They fall by his ankles. He moves towards her. She edges towards him. Their bodies meet. He enters her. She makes a loud moan. He also speaks more loudly than usual: “mmmm I so love being in you, my love”, she moans too: “and I love having you in me”, he begins thrusting into her. She responds with loud moans. He grunts loudly too, as he pushes deeper and deeper. Suddenly she screams: “I love youuuu!!!!”, one more thrust and he screams too: “agapiiiiiiii*”, as he empties himself into her. Then they remain still, their heads leaning onto each other’s shoulders, catching their breath, hugging tenderly.

(*trnsl: agapi = love)

  * Then he picks her up and puts her back on the ground. She reaches for her knickers, to put them back on. He picks them up before her and puts them in his pocket. Then he hugs her and reaches with his hand under her skirt again, making a very naughty smile: “I very much prefer you without”, she giggles. Then he takes her hand and they continue walking, carrying their basket. They reach the edge of the cliff: “this view is truly magnificent, my love”, he looks at her sweetly: “that’s why you love our island so much”, she looks at him lovingly: “the island and you, very, very, much!”, they smile at each other, hug and kiss. Then he takes her hand again: “let’s go”, “where?”, “you really don’t trust me, do you?”, she giggles: “of course I do”, he looks at her mischievously: “then just follow me. Stop asking where”, she smiles sweetly: “all right…”, and they continue walking along a very narrow path that slowly descends the cliff. They reach a very small sandy beach, completely hidden from view. He puts the basket down and lays a towel on the sand. She looks around: “so lovely!”, he looks at her with adoring eyes: “not as lovely as you”, he wraps his arms around her and kisses her again. Then he unbuttons and removes her shirt, her bra, and her skirt. He looks at her naked body: “ise toso omorfi, agapi mou”, she smiles sweetly, reaches for his hands and pulls him towards her. She kisses him again: “so are you, my love, poly’ omorfos”. She unbuttons and removes his clothes until they are both completely naked. She looks embarrassed but does not say anything. She just stands in front of her man and gently caresses his beautiful body, his arousal quite obvious. He smiles: “see what you always do to me?”, she giggles, then he grabs her hand and walks towards the water. She hesitates: “what if someone comes now?”, “that’s very unlikely. Most people don’t know about this beach. And it is still low season”. He leads her into the water and they both enjoy swimming, playing, splashing each other, frequently stopping for tight hugs and loving kisses.

(trnsl: you are so beautiful [feminine], my love; very handsome [masculine])

  * They are standing in the shallow water, lost in a tight embrace, exchanging yet one more loving kiss, which is becoming more and more sensual. He rubs himself against her naked body. He has an obvious erection and she can feel it very well. She reaches down and wraps her hand around him. She begins stroking him. He moans as his breath shortens, his mouth into the crook of her neck, giving her many kisses and gentle sucks. He reaches in between her legs with his hand and finds her very wet. He inserts his fingers while gently pushing with his thumb on her clitoris. She moans and continues moving her hand on him. Then he lifts her up, holding her from her buttocks. She wraps her arms around his head and neck and her legs around his waist. He pushes gently into her. They both moan. While holding her onto him, he sits in the sand, in the shallow water, in their beloved seated position. She moves on him. They moan together. They hug and kiss lovingly as their bodies find a familiar rhythm. They make love until they both reach climax. Then they remain seated, hugging happily, leaning against each other in their post pleasure relaxation, the gentle waves of the calm Ionian Sea moving around their joint naked bodies.
  * Several minutes later, they are still sitting on the beach, in the shallow water. She is still sitting on top of him. He is still inside of her, holding her in between his thighs. He is looking at her with very loving eyes, gently stroking her cheek with his thumb. She looks into his eyes: “gosh, if anybody had ever told me I could do it so many times in a day…”, he makes a sweet smile: “we are breaking every record”, she smiles sweetly: “and in the most unlikely places”, he gives her a soft kiss: “you are becoming a naughty Greek, doing it on public beaches”, she giggles: “not to mention the church above us”, “shhh don’t tell the priest who has married us. He may revoke our marriage”, they laugh sweetly.
  * They kiss again, many times. Softly at first, then their tongues find each other. He hardens again. She feels him inside of her and laughs softly, her mouth on his: “more, my love?”, he keeps kissing her: “your fault, I just can’t resist you”, she makes small rotating motions on him. They both moan, then he pushes on his legs to get them up. She helps pushing them up too, then she wraps her legs around his waist, holding him inside. He carries her to the towel on the beach, his walking movements creating a slow soft friction between their joined bodies. They both moan. Then he leans her on the towel, on her back. He begins thrusting into her, slowly and lovingly at first, then increasingly more quickly and deeply until they scream each other’s names. Very loudly, on ‘their’ secret deserted little beach. Then they lay on the towel and fall asleep, their naked bodies hugging each other, their legs intertwined. When they wake up, almost an hour later, the sun is low and they are both shivering. They kiss lovingly, then they get up and wear their clothes. Louisa makes a mischievous smile: “I believe you have something that belongs to me”, he looks baffled. She reaches for his pocket and pulls out her knickers, then she smiles at him. They both laugh, he looks at her with a naughty smile: “arguably, those belong to me”, she laughs: “are you talking about my underwear or its content?”, he laughs too: “both!”, they giggle and exchange a loving kiss. Then she walks to their beach basket: “I am thirsty, I think Christina gave us bottled water earlier”, “yes, it should be in the basket”, she looks inside the basket and giggles. He looks at her puzzled. She takes out their bathing costumes: “unused…”. He laughs: “I prefer you without”, she smirks: “me too, I had much rather look at you in your birth suit, love”, they hug and kiss. Then he picks up the basket and they walk back towards the car, holding hands. Happy.

  * That evening the postman goes to the house: “tilegráfima!!”. Margot walks up to him and takes the telegram: “efcharisto’*!”, she opens and reads it, then she laughs loudly. Larry is sitting at the veranda table with his typewriter, looking at his sister, curious. Leslie and Gerry also approach, curious too. Margot reads the telegram aloud: _back Wednesday, Love, Mom, Spiros_. They all laugh. Leslie smirks: “it seems that honeymoon is going very, very, well!”, Gerry chuckles: “an extra-long honeymoon!”, they all smile sweetly.

(*trnsl: thank you)

  * Over the rest of their honeymoon, in the privacy of their hotel room they make love numerous times. Louisa often wears her sexy underwear and night dress and that releases some pretty hot lovemaking. They even try a few more positions from the book. They choose frontal positions with extensive hugging opportunities and they enjoy them. They are resting after lovemaking, hugging each other on the bed. He looks at her lovingly: “this one was very good. I loved it that I could hug you throughout”, she answers with sweet voice: “me too, my love”, he laughs: “Larry would be proud to know that we are using the book so much”, she answers with stern voice: “he certainly would, but he is NOT to know!”, he laughs sweetly: “don’t worry, my love, this will be our little secret”, she blushes: “not so little, really”, they both giggle, “this whole honeymoon shall remain our secret, Spiro”, “of course my love, you don’t need to tell me that”, they kiss lovingly, “I will miss these moments, Spiro”, he smiles naughtily: “miss? Are you planning on going chaste on me, back home, Louisa?”, she laughs: “I have no such plan!”, “happy to hear that!”, she smiles: “but I will miss this level of privacy”, “me too, we need to make sure those Science classes on Thursday afternoons continue”, she giggles: “of course, science education is extremely important”, he giggles too: “that’s right. One very good reason for me and you to continue with our Biology lessons”, she looks puzzled: “Biology?”, he kisses her sensually and starts caressing her, then he begins kissing and touching her body more deliberately: “labia oris, mammary glands, proximal thigh, quadriceps, perineal region, vulva, clitoris, labia, vagina…”, she giggles, he slowly inserts his fingers and begins moving them, she moans. She is touching him: “deltoid muscle, pectoral muscles, nipple, abdominal muscles, gluteal muscles, perineal region, testes, penis, penile erection…”, they are both moaning heavily now, he approaches her, she receives him, “copulation, my sweet bride”, they both smile, then she closes her eyes, he moves on her…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So initially I was going to end this story with their wedding and/or honeymoon. But then I thought it'd be too "Cinderella": unhappy girl finds prince charming, they marry, they live happily ever after.... as if being married to some chap was all that mattered in a woman's life. Blah...
> 
> So I have decided to continue it. I will bring them to England and have them all settled before I let go of Louisa and Spiros. Hope you are with me on this one.😀


	34. Back home, back to reality

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Post honeymoon, return to reality and news at home.  
Some fluff, some serious stuff.  
The war is very close. It can't be ignored... some important decisions are being taken...

  * Wednesday March 29th. It is the last day of their extended honeymoon. In the morning they go to the hotel’s beach one last time, then after lunch they pack their suitcase. She takes her wedding dress from the wardrobe and folds it carefully. He hugs her from behind: “you looked so beautiful in that dress, my love. It is such a pity you won’t wear it again”, she turns around and kisses him lovingly: “oh I think I will”, he looks perplexed now: “are you planning on remarrying?”, she laughs: “If I ever were to remarry it would have to be with you, my love. I wouldn’t want anybody else”, he looks at her lovingly: “I am so happy that you’d say that, my love”, they kiss, then he laughs: “so when are you planning to wear that dress again? When are we re-marrying? if you have made plans I should know them, shouldn’t I?”, she giggles: “you are being silly again, my love. I was just thinking I may dye this dress so that I can wear it again, at important occasions”, he hugs her tightly: “such a great idea, agapimeni nyfi mou*, and I will always be happy to help button it up for you. Even more so taking it off you!”, they both giggle.

(*trnsl: my beloved bride)

  * As they finish packing she bends to pick up a blouse she has dropped. He hugs her from behind and rubs himself against her buttocks, with a clearly perceivable erection: “that was a very provoking move, my love”, she turns around laughing and kisses him: “then just about anything can be provoking”, “that’s exactly my problem, my love. Everything you do turns me on”, she giggles sweetly: “my silly gampro’*…”, they kiss, hug, touch… he takes her to the bed… they make love again, one last time before leaving. Later, they go downstairs. “goodbye Mr. and Mrs. Halikiopoulos, I hope you have enjoyed your stay here”, Louisa smiles: “we have and we plan to return one day. Maybe on our anniversary”, “that would be very nice. You can just let me know and I will keep a room for you”, she hands them a business card. Spiros takes it: “thank you, we will make sure we don’t lose it”. Then, they walk to the car and Louisa drives back home while he relaxes with his bare feet on the dashboard: “I am liking this. We should have you drive more often, my love”, “happy to, Spiro. After all, you drive all day. I am sure you can use the rest when the driving is not for work”. As they approach the gate to the house, she slows the car and looks at him sweetly: “I will be happy to see the children, but I am sad this is the end of our honeymoon, my love”, he looks at her with very loving eyes: “it may be the end of our honeymoon, Louisa, but it sure is not the end of our happiness together”, she looks at him with a sweet smile: “I know, we shall be happy and in love forever, my beloved Greek Adonis”, he smiles sweetly: “see? I am not the only one to say romantic things”. She stops the car in the driveway and smiles lovingly at him as she repeats the romantic compliment he often makes to her: “your fault, you are irresistible, my love”, they hug and exchange a long love kiss.

(*trnsl: groom)

  * Margo screams: “they are back!”, Gerry looks towards the driveway to their house: “the car has stopped?!?”, Larry laughs: “they are smooching!”, Leslie giggles: “just like when they left 10 days ago. It is nice to know that some things will never change!”, they all laugh, then they approach the car. Larry greets them: “welcome back, lovers!! Enough smooching, now. You had 10 whole days for that!”. Spiros and Louisa stop kissing and laugh. She turns on the car and drives it closer to the house. Then they get off and greet and hug the children and Nancy. Margot smiles: “welcome back, how was your honeymoon?”, Louisa answers: “very good, that place was lovely”, Spiros makes a wide happy smile: “yes, thank you so much for the gift. It made for a really nice honeymoon!”, Larry smirks: “and I am sure ‘nice’ only begins to describe it…”, they all laugh, Spiros makes a naughty smile: “indeed”, Louisa intercedes with stern voice: “it begins and it ends the description, nosey son!”, Leslie chuckles: “yea, we will have to just imagine how nice it must have been if you decided to prolong it”. They all laugh again, then they go to the house. Larry checks his wristwatch: “we have a surprise for you. It should materialize presently, it’s just about the end of nap time”, in that moment Katherini and Mihalis walk down the stairs, looking sleepy, “bampaka, Louisa, you’ve arrived!”, they run towards them, Mihalis hugs his father, Louisa picks Katherini up: “hello darling, I am happy to find you here!”, she kisses her. The girl kisses Louisa back. Spiros hugs Louisa who is holding his daughter and kisses Katherini: “hello koukla mou, I hope you were a good girl while we were away, “of course, bampaka, I am always a good girl!”, “and I hope you were a good boy, Mihali”, “yes, bampa’, of course. I hope you were a good boy too!”, Louisa laughs: “yes, a very good boy”, Larry smirks: “oh that is a very sad description, for a honeymoon”, they all laugh. Louisa puts Katherini down: “if you give us a few minutes to unpack, we have gifts for all of you in our suitcase”, Gerry smiles: “sounds good, meanwhile we can prepare tea”, Margo adds: “then we can try the biscuits and scones we made this morning”, Louisa looks surprised, Margot smirks: “yes mother, you shouldn’t look that surprised, we have learned from you!”, “Mihali and I have helped too!”, “then I am sure they will be delicious, koula mou”.

(trnsl. Bambaka = daddy; bampa’ = dad; koukla mou = my doll)

  * Louisa and Spiros go to their bedroom and unpack their suitcase. They make a pile of dirty laundry on the floor, Spiros smiles: “Lugaretzia can take care of it tomorrow”, “except for these”, she removes the very sexy underwear and night dress and hides them in a drawer, blushed: “I will wash these later and hang them to dry in this room”, he giggles: “and I hope you will wear them again soon, my love”. She smiles: “only when you earn it”, he laughs: “I will need to know how, then!”, they both laugh, she makes a naughty and mysterious smile: “I will tell you later”. They hug and kiss, then they finish unpacking, “what are we going to do with this?”, he has the book in his hand, she takes it and puts it in the drawer of their night table: “for later use”, he approaches and hugs her from behind: “I am liking your way of thinking, my bride”, she turns around and kisses him very sensually, he responds touching her body though her clothes, she speaks sweetly: “behave yourself, Spiro. Let’s go downstairs now, the children are waiting”.
  * They take the gifts and join the children for tea on the veranda. They hand them their gifts, one by one. Katherini unwraps hers: “a painted sea shell! A new piggy bank!”, “you needed it since you gave yours to Larry for our wedding gift, darling”, she hands her a few coins, “thank you, Louisa!”, she happily puts the coins in the piggy bank and rattles it: “I am rich again!”. For Mihalis, a set of toy cars: “until you are old enough to drive my car, son”. For Larry, a guide book to Corfu’, Louisa smirks: “for some actual information, when you make up those stories for your articles”. For Margot, a new bikini: “to match your mother’s next time we go for a swim together”, Louisa blushes: “we will have to see about that idea!”, he looks at her naughtily: “you did wear yours in Kavos, nyfi mou*, and you looked really good in it”, she blushes: “I had no choice, had I? It was the only bathing costume this lot had packed!”, Larry smirks: “intentionally so!”, “much appreciated, thank you all!”, “not a problem, Spiro! How about the rest of that gift? Did she wear that?”, “that question shan’t receive an answer! Enough teasing, now!”, Larry makes a smirk: “mother, that was a pretty clear ‘yes’ answer”, they all giggle. She is really blushed now. Spiros smiles at her sweetly: “let’s continue with our gift distribution, shall we?”, Larry smirks: “fine, I will withhold my question on the Indian book, then…”, Spiros gives him a mischievous look, holding his finger on his lips in the shhh gesture. Still very blushed, Louisa gives Gerry his gift. He unwraps it: a butterfly net and a new hat, “for when you go on your nature errands, son. Your old hat is small on you now, and really, really, filthy!”. For Leslie, fishing gears, Spiros smiles: “for when you are tired of shooting”. They all sit around the table and enjoy their tea together, Louisa smiles: “these scones are delicious”, “of course, the children had the best and sweetest teacher”, he looks at her sweetly. They kiss. Margot smiles sweetly: “it’s nice to see that married life has not abated the smooching”, Spiros smiles: “of course not! Except that now it is blessed by our holy matrimony”. They all laugh.

(*trnsl: my bride)

  * The next day (March 30th) they wake up early and join the children and Nancy for breakfast. “good morning lovebirds, hope your awakening back home was not too disappointing”, Spiros smiles: “of course not! We are happy to be back home, Larry”, he smirks: “yea, right, I believe you, Spiro”. They all laugh and prepare breakfast together. Lugaretzia arrives in that moment: “kalimera sas, kalos hirthes piso sto spiti!”. Louisa hugs her: “efcharisto’, kathiste mazi’ mas gia kafe’, Lugaretzia”, she looks at her surprised “den ixera oti milisate elinika toso kala’”, “giati’ echo ton kalytero daskalo”, she turns to Spiros, he looks at her very sweetly. They kiss. Then they serve breakfast, including a full plate to Lugaretzia who says she doesn’t want it but then eats it clean.

(trnsl: good morning to you, welcome back home; thank you, sit with us for coffee; I didn’t know you spoke Greek so well; it’s because I have the best teacher)

  * Later, Spiros goes to work for several hours. When he returns, Louisa is not in sight. He sits by the sea wall with two newspapers. Louisa returns from errands in town. She approaches him and sits next to him. They kiss: “welcome back, love, hope you had a good work day”. He keeps the Greek paper and hands her the English newspaper, The Daily Mail: “the news is not good, I am afraid. Mussolini has proposed a new treaty to king Zog of Albania. It is a provocation. It essentially involves giving up the sovereignty of Albania to Italy. King Zog will not be able to accept it and Mussolini will have an excuse to invade Albania. With Hitler’s help, that will be easy”, Louisa looks very worried. She reads the English paper: “here it says the same thing. There will be a war soon”, Spiros raises his arm and points at the Albanian coast, right across from their house: “and it will be right there…”. In that moment Larry approaches: “I am sorry you have returned to this awful news. I am afraid our time on Corfu is coming to an end. We will need to plan a departure”, Louisa makes a sad face: “oh I so hope we don’t need to leave. Maybe things are not that bad!”, Spiros takes her hand: “I also wish we could stay here, my love, but I am afraid Larry is right. We need to start thinking about leaving”, Larry nods: “good thing we all have British passports now”. Louisa looks very sad. Spiros puts his arm around her shoulders: “my love, we will return here as soon as it is possible. In the meanwhile, we will build a life in England. As long as we are together, we will be fine”, she looks at him: “yes, we will, my love. I am happy we can face these difficult times together”. They look at each other with sad, yet loving, eyes. They kiss.
  * That evening, after dinner they are all sitting on the veranda, enjoying the mild Spring weather. Spiros smiles: “today I went to the post office. There were a few letters for you”, he puts them on the table. Margot reaches for one with her name: “thank you Spiro!”, then she goes inside the house to read it. Louisa looks perplexed: “hiding to read her post?”, Larry smirks: “yea, she has been doing that lately”, Gerry smiles: “something to do with a smashing RAF officer recently posted to Corfu. I saw them together one day that Galini and I were strolling downtown”, Leslie nods: “I have seen them too. They were kissing”, Louisa smiles sweetly: “time for me to have a little chat with my daughter, it seems”, then she opens a letter addressed to Mrs. and Mr. Halikiopoulos: “the countess is inviting us for tea tomorrow afternoon”, Spiros smiles: “sounds good, it will be nice to catch up with her after being away”, Louisa agrees: “and we can give her the little gift we got in Kavos”.
  * Spiros smiles: “my parents say hi. I went to see them today”, Louisa smiles: “oh, I hope you gave them my regards. We should make plans to see them together soon”, he smiles at her sweetly: “they have anticipated us. We are all invited to their house for Easter next Sunday, April 9th”, Louisa asks: “is Greek Easter so early in the year this year? It usually is later”, “you have learned a lot about Greek customs over your years in Corfu, haven’t you?”, she smiles sweetly and gives him a soft kiss: “about Greek customs and Greek men…”, he makes a pretend upset face: “men?!?!? How many?”, she laughs and gives him another kiss: “as many as it was necessary to find true love”, he looks perplexed now, she laughs again: “you know the answer, Spiro, why do you ask?”, he laughs too then he makes a mischievous smirk: “well, it’s nice to hear it from you…”, she look at him with soft loving eyes: “you are the only one. You know that…”, he gives her a loving kiss: “yes, I know…”, they kiss again.

  * Later that evening, they are all in the living room, except Margot. Louisa asks: “where is Margot?”, Gerry replies: “the lamp in her bedroom was on. She may be writing a letter. She has been doing that a lot lately”, Louisa gets up and walks upstairs. She knocks on the door to Margot’s bedroom: “may I come in?”. She hears a voice from inside: “of course!”, she walks in. Margot is at her desk, the letter she was writing covered by a sheet of white paper. “am I interrupting something? I can come back later”, she smiles: “no mother, we might as well get this over with now”, she laughs: “that bad?’, she blushes: “maybe…”, her mother sits on the bed, then smiles sweetly: “what’s his name?”, Margot blushes: “Jack… Jack Breeze”, “and he is with the Royal Air Force…”, Margot looks surprised, Louisa laughs: “this house is not the place for keeping secrets, darling”, she smiles: “I know…”, “have you met him recently?”, “yes, he is a pilot and he has been posted to Corfu since the week before your wedding. We met during his first leave off the base”, “while we were away?”, “yes…”, Margot blushes again, Louisa smiles: “I sense this may be serious”, Margot is really blushed now. Louisa makes a sweet smile, Margot looks down: “yes, I think it is…”, “do you love him?”, “I think I may… I know what you will say. I hardly know him!”, Louisa smiles: “if he is the one you will know it soon. Your heart will tell you, but it sure does help if you get to know him first”, Margot smiles: “I know…”, “can you see each other often or is he always at the base?”, “they are allowed out only once or twice per week, depending upon the level of alert”, “so you have seen him only a few times”, “yea… but we write each other every day”, “that’s very sweet, darling, but do give yourself the time to get to know him better before you fall for him, or you may get hurt”, “I know…”, “well, whenever you feel ready for it, feel free to invite him for tea. I’d be happy to spoil him with scones and biscuits”, Margot smiles: “I am sure you would, thank you mother”, Louisa gets up and hugs her: “I will leave you to your letter, then. You don’t need to cover it, you know. I’d respect your privacy”, she smiles and walks to the door, as she is leaving she turns back: “and we can talk any time, you know that”, Margot looks up and smiles sweetly: “yes I know, thank you…”.

  * The next day, Spiros returns to the house after his regular taxi job at the Corfu Town port. He approaches Louisa who is helping Lugaretzia with the laundry: “hello my love”, she dries her hands in her apron and walks towards him. They hug and exchange a long kiss: “welcome back my love, how was work?”, “very busy. There are many soldiers needing taxi service, both Greek and English. It seems both countries are deploying to Corfu”, she looks worried: “that’s concerning…”, “I know, it confirms what we already know: that Corfu is in a very strategic location”, she looks sad: “We really need to be ready to leave when the time comes”, “yes, and it may be sooner than we like. We may not be able to spend this Summer here”, she looks sad. He wraps her in his arms and gives her another long kiss: “my love as long as we are together…”, she smiles sweetly: “I know, I am being silly”, he looks at her tenderly: “not silly, my love, not silly at all…”, they kiss again.
  * Then Spiros adds: “speaking of soldiers, I have asked around. It seems this Jack Breeze is a nice fellow. He has already made a few friends in town and he speaks of Margot very fondly”, she smiles: “how do you already have information on him?”, he makes a naughty smile: “I have my connections…”, she laughs: “you sure do!”, he laughs too: “well, I have many friends in town and as you know people do like to talk, especially about foreigners”, she smirks: “I sure do know that! Well, I am happy to learn he is a nice fellow. Margot seems very taken”, Spiros smiles: “maybe he is the one…”, Louisa smiles: “maybe. I am just worried that she seems to be falling for him so quickly. She hardly knows him”, he smiles sweetly: “I fell for you very quickly too. It can happen, you know?”, she smiles sweetly: “I guess it can. I only hope my baby won’t be hurt”, he hugs her: “I will keep an eye on the man…”, she laughs: “don’t overdo it, love. Margot would never forgive me if we interfered with her love life”, he smiles: “fair enough. I will be discrete…”.

  * In the afternoon they call at the countess. They get off the car, walk to the front door and knock. Nobody answers. Louisa is surprised: “this is odd, Dennis is usually here, waiting for us”, Spiros gently pushes the door. It opens: “not locked”, they walk towards the living room where they habitually have tea together. As they approach it, Louisa calls: “hellooo? Anybody here?”, they hear the sound of quickly shuffling feet. When they reach the door to the living room they clearly see Dennis sneaking out through the back door. The countess is sitting in her usual armchair. They approach her: “hello countess”, she smiles at them: “welcome back my dears, please sit down!”. They sit on their usual small sofa. She sounds their usual friend, but something is obviously off. She is rather flushed, her hair undone, her lipstick slightly smeared. Louisa and Spiros look at each other, then Louisa speaks softly: “it is nice to see you countess. I hope you have been well while we were away”, the countess smiles: “very well, thank you”, Louisa makes a sweet smile: “any news you’d wish to share with your friends?”, the countess feigns indifference: “news? Not really”, Louisa makes a smirk: “are you sure?”, the countess acts surprised: “why wouldn’t I be sure?”, Louisa takes a compact mirror from her handbag and hands it to her. The countess looks at herself and blushes. Louisa smiles sweetly: “we saw Dennis leaving hurriedly…”, she is pointing at the door at the back of the room, the countess laughs: “touché!”, Louisa smiles: “so it seems there is news, after all…”, the countess is really blushed now: “maybe…”, Louisa smiles: “you don’t have to tell us if you don’t feel comfortable, countess. I, we… just couldn’t pretend we didn’t notice anything…”.
  * In that moment Dennis walks in with the usual tray with tea: “tea is served! Welcome back Mr. and Mrs. Halikiopoulos. I hope you had a good honeymoon”, He puts the tray on a side table and serves tea. Spiros makes a naughty smirk: “excellent, thank you! I trust you have been having a good time too, while we were away”, the countess smiles and pats the armchair next to hers: “you should help yourself with tea too, and join us, Dennis”, Dennis looks at her surprised. She smiles at him sweetly: “they know…”. Dennis blushes, pours himself a cup of tea, and sits by the countess. He looks at her and laughs: “that smeared lipstick!”, Louisa laughs: “and the messy hair… and the flushed look…”, Spiros laughs too: “and you sneaking out the back door when we walked in, my friend”, the countess and Dennis look at each other, both blushed. Louisa smiles: “we don’t have to talk about it if you don’t feel ready. We’d understand”, Spiros smiles too: “and we’ll be discrete”, the countess makes a shy smile: “you are my good friends, we shouldn’t feel ashamed with you”, Louisa smiles: “with us or anybody else. There is nothing shameful about this”, Dennis smiles shyly: “my feeling exactly”, the countess smiles too: “sorry, wrong choice of words. I should have said that we shouldn’t feel _embarrassed_ with our good friends”.
  * Louisa makes a sweet smile: “did it start at our wedding?”, Spiros adds: “those slow dances…”, Dennis nods, with a bashful smile. The countess explains: “we talked after you left on that day and decided to give it a go. It’s still early to know what this is, but we think it is worth pursuing”, she smiles at Dennis. He looks into her eyes sweetly: “oh, I already know how I feel and I hope you will too, eventually”, she reaches for his hand on the armrest of his armchair. She smiles sweetly at him, but remains quiet. Spiros puts his arm around Louisa’s shoulders and smiles: “you will know, countess. Your heart will know. But you need to allow yourself to listen to it…”, Louisa smiles sweetly: “without fear…”, the countess smiles: “let’s have our tea before it gets cold”. They all sip their tea. The countess asks: “so, how was Kavos?”, Louisa answers with a sweet smile: “lovely”, Spiros adds: “very romantic. We have decided we will take holidays away from our children more often”, Louisa laughs: “we haven’t told them yet, but being just the two of us was so nice, that we want to do it again”, Spiros smiles sweetly: “sooner better than later…”, the countess agrees: “excellent idea”.
  * Then Louisa opens her handbag, takes a small box out, and hands it to the countess: “this is a small souvenir for you”, “oh, thank you, but you didn’t need to”, then she opens the box. It contains a thin gold necklace with a coral-shaped pendant with a mother of pearl insert, “oh this is so nice, thank you!”, then she hands the box to Dennis: “help, please?”, he smiles sweetly, takes the necklace, walks around her armchair, very gently pulls her hair up, and fastens the necklace behind her neck, gently stroking her skin. Then he sits next to her again and looks at her sweetly: “you look beautiful! The mother of pearl really picks up the shine from your blue eyes”, then he promptly blushes. Louisa and Spiros look at each other sweetly, then Louisa leans forward to take a closer look: “you are correct, Dennis, it does shine a blue tinge!”, the countess blushes and steers the conversation to safer topics: “what was the weather like in Kavos?”... They continue chatting amicably for a couple of hours. Dennis sitting shyly, Louisa and Spiros encouraging him to join the conversation with various prompts, Spiros asks him: “have you ever been in Kavos, Dennis?”, “I have, with my parents when I was a child. I remember running on a long beach. I loved it”, “it’s been a while, then. You should go again”, Louisa smiles: “maybe on your honeymoon?”, he makes a sweet smile, looking at the countess: “I’d love to”, she blushes, but says nothing.
  * After a while, Louisa asks: “have you been listening to the news on the wireless?”, Dennis looks serious now: “we have”, Spiros adds: “it is time that we begin our exit plans”, the countess nods and looks at Dennis: “I have agreed to go to England with them”, he smiles at her sweetly and reaches for her hand in her lap: “I know… and I am happy. I want you safe”, Louisa smiles: “you know that you are welcome to join us, Dennis. I am sure the British consul would issue you a visa”, he turns towards the countess: “we should probably talk about this before I give my answer”, she smiles at him sweetly: “yes, we should”, Spiros smiles: “Louisa’s aunt Patience says she has a large house and she can store anything we wish to ship ahead of our evacuation. We plan to start preparing trunks with the things we use less, for shipping to England before transport becomes difficult”, Louisa nods: “you should do that too, countess”, she hands her a note with aunt Patience’s address, “I will, thank you, my friends”.
  * As they leave the house, Dennis walks them to the door: “goodbye Mr. and Mrs. Halikiopoulos”, Spiros smiles: “let’s go by first names, shall we?”, Dennis nods. Louisa smiles: “do I guess it correctly that this latest development may weigh in on your decision about going to England with us for the war?”, Dennis smiles: “yes…”, he hesitates before using their first names: “…Louisa …and Spiro, I was already considering your offer seriously. Now I have one additional reason”, Spiros smiles: “I may be wrong, but I think you had it even before”, Dennis blushes and looks down: “I had…”, Spiros continues: “you have been in love with her for quite some time…”, Louisa smiles and reaches for Dennis’ hand: “for the countess instead, this is all new. You will need to be patient, Dennis. Before she can fully commit to you, she will need to be ready to leave her husband behind, just like I was ready when I fell for Spiro. That has to happen first, and it is not that straightforward. She may need time”, he smiles timidly: “I know… I can wait…”.

  * The next day, lunch time. Margot asks: “may I borrow your car today, Spiro?”, Louisa looks at her: “is Jack on leave off the base this afternoon?”, she blushes: “he is…”. Spiros smiles sweetly: “of course, Margot, just please be careful. You really must avoid being in town on your own, especially in the evening. With all of those soldiers around, women are increasingly reporting heavy-handed and unwelcome approaches. There are even rumors of rape”, Larry nods: “yea, at least two, and we know that for every two that we hear about, many more go unreported, hidden as if it was the shame of the woman”, Louisa looks very worried now: “oh, then you really cannot drive there alone, Margot”, Spiros looks at her: “this applies to you too, my love”, then he looks at Nancy: “and you. None of you, ladies, should go to town alone. It has become too dangerous”, then he looks at Margot: “today I can go with you. I will just walk back once I know that you are safely with Jack. Then later, you and him should drive here together. I can drive him back to the British base”, Margot smiles shyly: “oh, but I don’t know how late we will be, Spiro”, he smiles sweetly, like a loving dad: “it doesn’t matter, Margot. I will be up. Take your time. I will have things to do around the house”. Louisa smiles at him sweetly: “thank you, love…”, he gives her a loving kiss: “of course, I could never forgive myself if anything bad was to happen to ‘my’ women!” then he turns towards Margot and winks: “let’s go now. We shouldn’t make Jack wait”, she gets up with a happy smile and hugs him: “thank you, Spiro!”. Leslie gets up too: “I will go too, I can walk back with you, Spiro”, he picks up one of his guns and goes to the car. As usual, Leslie takes the safety of his family very seriously...

  * The next day, April 3rd, after breakfast Spiros drives Margot, Leslie, and Gerry to town, then he returns home. Him and Louisa are having Greek coffee on the veranda. Larry and Nancy approach, Larry looks serious: “we were listening to the wireless. The BBC news just said that the civil war in Spain has ended yesterday. The nationalists headed by Francisco Franco have won and are setting up a dictatorship. Another Nazi regime, unfortunately”, Louisa is sad: “oh that is really bad”, “yes mother, and the BBC news said this will free up Italian and German forces for other campaigns. They speculate the Balkans are next”, she looks worried: “we really do need to prepare to leave”, Spiros agrees: “we need to start packing things we don’t use much and send them to England”, she smiles sadly: “yes, aunt Patience said she can store anything we want at her house. We should let Dimitra and Christos know too”, she looks very sad. Spiros pulls her in his arms and gives her a loving kiss.

  * That evening. Louisa, Spiros, Nancy, and the Durrell siblings are all sitting in the living room, reading books and letters. Louisa asks: “where is Leslie?”, Gerry replies: “locked up in the bathroom”, Margot adds: “he has been there for quite some time!”, Larry makes a mischievous smirk, Gerry laughs: “not what you are thinking, brother. At least that’s not what he said. He claimed he was going to develop the photos he took at the wedding”. In that moment Leslie walks in with a bunch of photos. He puts them on the coffee table: “here they are. Careful how you touch them. They are still a bit dump”, Louisa and Spiros lean forward, curious. They begin looking at them one by one, Louisa smiles: “they are very nice, thank you darling! We will need to buy an album to keep them”, Spiros makes a big happy smile: “yes, thank you! These are very nice memories of a very happy day”, he wraps his arms around Louisa and gives her a big loving kiss. She happily returns it. The children smile. Leslie goes back upstairs and returns with another armload of photos: “there’s more. These are from the reception. You should look at them all and let me know which you want to be duplicated or enlarged. I can make as many copies as you wish”, they look at them. Louisa picks a few out, with the two of them, and a few with their children and other relatives: “these are all nice. I’d like to frame this and put it next to the photo of our British wedding. And we may make copies of these for your parents and brothers. I can also send one each to my brothers”.
  * Spiros takes one out and makes a sweet smile: “and our friends may want a copy of this”, she looks at it. It is a photo of the countess and Dennis, dancing the slow dances, wrapped into each other’s arms”, Margot smiles: “that was very sweet. I so hope it was not just a one off”, Leslie smiles: “I don’t think it was. I saw them in town the other day, walking arm-in-arm”, Spiros smiles too: “yes, things are progressing. Maybe we will have another wedding in those gardens soon”, Louisa smiles: “if it was up to Dennis we would! However, I think the countess may need a bit more time. Before she can fully embrace this new relationship, she needs to put her husband in her past”, Margot looks at her: “just like you have…”, “yes, darling, exactly, and it wasn’t a quick process”, “I know mother, and I am very happy you have completed it. It was time for you to move on”, Spiros hugs Louisa, they look at each other lovingly. They kiss.

  * Later that week, Friday, April 7, 1939, they are all finishing their lunch on the veranda when Lugaretzia arrives, looking very worried: “bad news today. Everybody in town is talking. Italians have invaded Albania”, Larry goes upstairs and returns with the wireless. They tune it to the BBC which is having a special program on that: “the occupation of Albania by Italian forces is being backed by Germany. The very weak Albanian army is not being able to prevent it. The Italians are advancing very rapidly, taking over kilometers and kilometers of the Albanian land”. They all sit around the radio, looking worried. Lugaretzia was correct. It’s bad news…
  * That day Louisa, Spiros, and Lugaretzia pack two trunks with their winter things. They are not going to need them in Greece now that the weather is warm. They are standing on the landing by the bedrooms, near the packed trunks. Louisa adds a label with her aunt’s address: “these are ready”, Spiros nods: “very good, tomorrow I can bring them to the post office and arrange for them to be shipped to your aunt Patience”, she makes a sad smile: “thank you, love”, he sees the sadness in her eyes. His eyes look sad too. They hug. She leans her head in the crook of his neck. He holds her in his arms. They hug quietly for a while. Lugaretzia walks up the stairs. She sees them, but for once she does not mumble anything. She just looks at them. She is sad too. She will never admit it openly, but she has come to love this eccentric English family. She turns around and quietly walks back downstairs. A tear rolling down her cheek.
  * The next day, Saturday. Spiros and Louisa take a stroll at the back of the house. They walk along the usual path and sit on their usual rock. They are both quiet. Spiros puts his arm around her shoulder: “my love, we will be fine”, she smiles sweetly at him. He leans towards her lips. They kiss. Louisa makes a tight, sad smile: “now that the decision to leave is taken and actual plans are starting, it all seems so much more real”, she is crying: “I really thought Corfu was going to be my home for as long as I lived. I feel this is where I belong…”, then she turns towards him: “…with you…”, he wraps his arms around her: “me too, when I returned from America I was sure I’d never leave Corfu again”, she keeps crying: “and now I make you do it!”, he gives her a loving kiss: “it is my choice too, and I am happy to go. I’d go anywhere for you and my children to be safe. I have fought in the Great War. It was horrible. I don’t really want to see another war and I certainly don’t want my children to live through one”, she looks at him: “me too, having lived through the Great War makes this new situation even scarier”, he gives her another loving kiss: “but it also strengthens our resolve to leave and bring our family to safety”, she kisses him: “I am so glad we can do this together. I can’t even imagine how much harder this would be if I did not have you”, he kisses her very lovingly: “you will always have me, and I will always have you. Together we can face anything, my love”. They sit for a while, hugging…

  * Meanwhile Larry, Nancy, and Margot drive to town. Margot goes on a date with Jack, while Larry and Nancy meet up with friends at the coffee shop. People are staring. Larry’s friends can be peculiar people. These are wearing very colorful clothes and messy hair. They talk for quite some time. After a few hours Jack and Margot approach them. Jack smiles: “it’s time for me to return to the base”, then he turns towards Margo. They hug and exchange a long kiss: “see you next week, my love”, she smiles at him sweetly: “yes, let me know when they allow you out of the base again”, “I will. I will write every day, love”, they exchange another long kiss. Then Jack leaves and Margot sits at the table with Larry, Nancy, and his friends. She looks at her brother with teary eyes: “I have made up my mind. I won’t leave Corfu. I want to be near Jack. I can’t just go...”, Larry looks at her very seriously: “Nancy and I won’t leave either. We want to stay and support the Greek resistance”, Larry’s friend adds: “we can arrange for the three of you to hide with the locals. Nobody will know you are English”, Margot smiles: “thank you, that would be fantastic”, then she looks at Larry with sad eyes: “we will have to tell mother”, Larry makes a sad smile: “she will be very upset”, Margot nods: “I know…”, Larry adds: “well, let’s finalize our plans first, then we can let her know”, Margot agrees: “yes, if we show that we have clear plans, she may accept it more easily”, Larry looks at her seriously; “she will never accept to leave two of her children behind _easily_. She will just have to take this as our decision. We are not children anymore. We need to make our life choices, even when they don’t align with hers”. Larry, Margot, and Nancy nod, get up, and walk to Spiro’s car to drive back home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> well, this is it. The post 'Cinderella' chapter. A few more chapters before departing Greece. I hope I am managing to keep serious and fluff in balance here.


	35. Greek Easter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Greek Easter celebrations at the Halikiopoulos.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In Greece, Easter is very celebrated, even more than Christmas. Having covered Christmas earlier, I wanted to also have a Easter chapter, before they leave the country.  
A shorter chapter than usual, but I wanted to maintain it focused on Easter, so there you go.
> 
> The Orthodox Easter is usually later than Easter in other Christian religions (something to do with using the Gregorian vs the Julian calendar). I've checked; in 1939 Greek Easter was, indeed, on April 9th. 😀

  * Sunday April 9th, 1939. Greek Easter. Spiros gets up very early and quietly sneaks out of the house. He goes to his parents to help set up the Easter souvla (large spit). This year they prepare a whole lamb on a large spit, slowly cooked over olive tree hot charcoal for many hours. They also prepare the entrails (kokoretsi). They clean them thoroughly, especially the intestine, which is turned inside out, washed, scraped carefully, and marinated with salt and lemon juice. The entrails are then carefully tightened onto a separate souvla, and also cooked slowly. Then Spiros leaves his father and his uncle Leonida to tend to the souvla. The lamb and kokoretsi need to be continually rotated and a lemony/olive oil marinade needs to be frequently applied, to prevent them from burning.
  * Meanwhile Louisa wakes up. With her eyes still closed, she whispers: “good morning, my love”, she turns towards Spiros’ side of the bed and reaches with her arm. Feeling the empty bed, she opens her eyes: “love?!? Where are you?”. She stretches and reaches for her wrist watch on her side table. It’s 6AM. She groans and wraps herself in the blanket. Not yet ready to get up. In that moment, Spiros walks in quietly and whispers: “still in bed, sleepy head?”, she smiles at him: “where did you sneak to so early in the morning, love? Shall I worry?”, he laughs and sits on the bed near her. He leans forward and gives her a tender kiss: “I was helping my parents and uncle set up the souvla. I hope I did not wake you when I left”, she stirs and makes a sweet smile: “you didn’t, but waking up without you was very sad”, she makes a pouting face. He leans towards her for another kiss.
  * She reaches behind his neck and pulls him closer. Their kiss becomes more sensual, their mouths open, their tongues tasting each other. She pushes his Jacket off him, then she undoes the buttons of his shirt and reaches for his chest with her hands. He smiles: “mmm it seems I need to make it up to you…”, she giggles: “would that be that tough a sacrifice, love?”, he reaches under the blanket and gently strokes her breast under her pajamas: “very, very, tough. The things a poor man has to do to keep his wife happy…”, he gives her another long sensual kiss. She happily returns it, pushes his suspenders and shirt off his back, then undoes the buttons of his trousers. A ‘tent’ holding his underwear up is clearly visible. She giggles: “yes, quite the sacrifice, my poor, poor, gampro’…”, he giggles too, then he gets up, removes the rest of his clothes and joins her under the sheets. He begins touching her and removes her pajamas top: “way too many clothes, my nyfi”, she lifts her hips to make it easier for him to remove her pajamas bottoms: “better now, my gampro’?”, he begins laying a long series of kisses along her body: “mmmm, much, much, better”, he continues kissing and stroking her body lightly. She responds with many shivers of pleasure, moaning more and more as he reaches lower and lower down her body. He is now laying soft kisses and gentle caresses along the sensitive skin of the inside of her thighs. She moans, reaches for his head with her hands and guides him up, where she wants him. He begins kissing and licking her sex. Her moans become deeper and deeper. He moves his fingers in her while licking and sucking on her clitoris. She begins tightening on him. She pulls his head up towards her breasts. As he sucks on her hardened nipples he moves with his body in between her thighs and enters her easily. She is very ready. She closes her eyes and relaxes completely in his arms. He moves on her, slowly and tenderly at first, then with deeper, harder, and increasingly more frequent thrusts until he feels her tighten on him, her whole body shivering. The pressure of her contracting body on his sex makes him reach the edge too. They orgasm together, him emptying himself into her, her sighing deeply, more loudly than usual. He quiets her by kissing her mouth, while moving on her gently, until they both come down from their high.

(trnsl: gampro’: groom; nyfi = bride)

  * Afterwards, they lay in bed quietly, hugging. After a while, she opens her eyes, reaches for his lips and gives him a soft kiss: “if this is how you make it up to me, I may wish you sneaked out of our bedroom early every morning…”, he giggles: “happy Easter to you, my love”, she giggles too: “kalo’ Pascha, agapi mou”. They cuddle in bed a little longer, then they get up, wash, dress, and go to the kitchen. They make a light breakfast for everybody. Porridge with granola, jam, raisin, and fresh fruit. The children get up late, as they often do on Sundays. Larry shows up first. He walks into the kitchen looking very groggy and mumbles: “m’nig…”. Spiros is still eating his porridge. Louisa is standing by the sink, washing dishes, her back to the table. She turns to look at Larry and laughs: “quite the morning face, son, why don’t you go back to bed and sleep longer?”, he laughs: “Nancy has kicked me out. She can sleep better when alone, apparently”, Spiros makes a mischievous smile: “it depends on how much of a _distraction_ you are. With all the noise you two made late last night, I can see why she’d need sleep now”, Louisa laughs, still standing by the sink, washing dishes. Larry laughs too: “indeed”, then he grabs a bowl and fills it with porridge. He sits at the kitchen table next to Spiros, leans towards him, and whispers with low mischievous voice that Louisa can’t hear: “this morning the two of you were not exactly quiet either…”, Spiros blushes, laughs, and makes a funny face, raising his finger to his lips, glancing towards Louisa who is still giving her back to them: “shhh”. Larry laughs too, then: “nice porridge, mother. A perfect light breakfast before today’s Easter celebrations”, Spiros laughs: “yes, a light breakfast is a wise move. There will be plenty of food today”.

(trnsl: kalo’ Pascha = happy Easter; agapi mou = my love)

  * Once all children are up and breakfast is over, they get ready for Easter. They all wear their nicer clothes and drive to Spiros’ parents. When they arrive, several members of Spiro’s family are there. His two brothers, his uncles, and several cousins, with their spouses and children. Dimitra and Christos are there too, with Mihalis and Katherini who are running around, playing with their cousins. Louisa and Spiros approach them and sit next to them. Spiros smiles: “glad to find you here”, Christos explains: “yea, your parents have invited us when they learned that we were not going to be with either of our families today”, Dimitra looks at Louisa with an open and frank, smile: “I hope it doesn’t feel too odd. It’s your first Easter as a Halikiopoulos nyfi, after all…”, she answers with an honest smile: “not really, you and your children are part of this family in many ways. I don’t have a problem with that”, Louisa and Dimitra continue chatting amicably for a while: “how was your honeymoon?”, “lovely, thank you. I must admit we did not want to return…”, Christos makes a naughty smile: “yes, we have heard about the extension…”, Louisa laughs: “my children are such gossips!”, Dimitra laughs too: “they are!”. The other guests are watching them. They know Spiros and Dimitra have remained in good terms after their divorce, but they are rather surprised to see the friendly interactions between Dimitra and Louisa.
  * The gathering is all around the souvla, with a number of chairs placed in circles and several people taking turns to continually rotate the spit, to ensure proper and uniform cooking of the lamb. At some point, the kokoretsi is ready. They remove the spit and cut the entrails into small pieces. The plate is then circulated around and everyone picks a few pieces and begins to eat them, together with several other appetizers (mezedes), including small meatballs, pieces of grilled sausage, feta and other types of cheese, olives, and large slices of bread. Louisa and Spiros are sitting next to each other. He whispers: “careful how much you eat at this stage, love, this is only the beginning. The appetizers”, she whispers back: “thanks for the warning, love”. The plate with the kokoretsi reaches them. Spiros takes a generous helping, then he turns to her: “this is a bit of an acquired taste, love. I’d advise trying a small piece first”, she follows his advice and only takes a small piece, then she passes the plate on with a big smile: “efcharisto’ poly’!”. She puts the kokoretsi in her mouth. Everybody is watching her now, curious to see the reaction of ‘that xeni’ (foreigner). Louisa is very conscious of it, so she makes a big smile and swallows the piece of intestine. Spiros is looking at her with a sweet smile: “liked it?”, she smiles back: “loved it”, “care for more?”, “I’ll pass on that nice offer, thank you. I am worried about eating too much”, he smiles at her sweetly, reaches for her lips and gives her a soft kiss, then he murmurs: “thank you, love”, she smiles: “for what?”, he gives her another kiss and whispers in her ear: “I know you didn’t like that”, she smiles back and whispers too: “sorry love, it is, indeed, an acquired taste”, he laughs: “I know, thanks for pretending…”. They exchange another long kiss. Spiros’ mother notices that and smiles sweetly: “aftoi’ oi dyo ine panta poly’ romantikoi’”, Katherini makes a big smile: “nai panta, giati’ ine poly’ erotevmenoi”, Mihalis nudges her. She turns towards him, annoyed: “it’s the truth, Mihali!”, he laughs: “I know, everybody knows”, the Durrell children laugh too, Leslie chuckles: “indeed, oli to xeroun”.

(trnsl: efcharisto’ poly’ = thank you very much; those two are always very romantic; yes always, because they are very in love; indeed, everybody knows)

  * People continue chatting and munching on the various appetizers, while drinking ouzo. Meanwhile, the lamb keeps cooking. After another hour, they begin cutting off the now crispy skin. They cut it into pieces and circulate the plate. It seems to be very popular. Everybody reaches for large pieces. By now Louisa is worried about those circulating plates full of odd parts of the lamb. Spiros can see that in her face. He leans towards her lips and gives her another kiss, murmuring in her mouth: “this is actually delicious, I think you will like it”, Louisa smiles sweetly and takes a large piece. She puts it in her mouth: “mmm it really is very nice. I love the lemony aftertaste of the marinate”, he smiles at her: “see? You should always trust me!”, she laughs, looking at him sweetly: “I just did. I took a large piece because you had told me it was good”, he laughs: “true, I am impressed with so much trust”, she laughs: “are you implying I usually don’t trust you? That’s unfair, love. You know that I do trust you”, he laughs too: “I know, and I love it when you do”, then he gives her another long kiss.
  * After another hour, the lamb is fully cooked. It is taken off the spit and cut into pieces which are then put on a large serving dish. Spiros looks at the Durrell with a smirk: “time for the real meal, now”, Margot looks at him, very surprised: “you are joking correct? I am already very full!”, he laughs: “I did warn you that was only the beginning!”, then he takes Louisa’s hand and pulls her towards a very long table. They sit next to each other and several plates full of food are circulated around the table. The lamb, potatoes, peppers, various salads and dips, including tzatziki which goes with the meat very well. Everybody fills their plates then the meal begins. The abundant food is flushed down with even more abundant wine. Larry is holding his stomach: “this amount of food is pure madness”, Margot groans: “I can’t...”, Spiros laughs: “just don’t eat all of it. Leave some food in your plate. In Greece that is expected. It is a compliment to the host, actually. It means they have fed you enough and you are not left hungry. A sign of hospitality”, Margot puts a hand on her swollen stomach and laughs: “a very hospitable society indeed…”, Larry laughs too: “thanks for the tip, Spiro. If I eat all of this I will need to see Dr. Petridis because of a burst stomach”, they all laugh.
  * Gerry remarks: “today I wish I were a frog”, Larry looks at his little brother perplexed: “do I want to ask why?”, Louisa laughs: “at your own risk, son”, they all laugh. Margot asks: “so why do you wish you were a frog, brother?”, Spiros laughs: “if it’s what I think you don’t really want to know, Margot”, Gerry laughs. Margot laughs too: “well, I am curious now”, Gerry begins his explanation: “because frogs lack an emetic response, when they need to eject food from their stomachs they do ‘gastric eversion’, eject their stomach from their mouths, inside out, then they wipe its content with their paws”, Katherini makes a funny face: “ewww!!”, Margo and Larry look horrified. Spiros, Christos, Dimitra, Spiros’ brothers and anyone who understands English all laugh. Spiros makes a smirk: “told you you didn’t want to know, Margot!”. Louisa looks at Gerry, then scolds him with stern voice: “that’s quite enough, darling. Of many disgusting things you have told us in your life, this really is one of the worst! Not quite something one wants to hear over a meal!”, Gerry looks mortified now and looks down: “sorry mother…”, Mihalis comes to his rescue: “well, I thought that was very neat, Gerry, almost as good as the analysis of cat and otter scat we did together last week”, they all laugh, Larry shakes his head: “hopeless…”, Louisa looks at Dimitra meekly: “sorry, it seems my son is having a bad influence on yours”, Dimitra laughs, then she answers with jokeful voice: “bad indeed!”, Christos laughs: “we should blame Theo. It all began with him”, Louisa laughs: “not really, Gerry had already begun doing and saying disgusting things back in England”, Gerry swats his mother playfully: “should I remind you of what uncles George and John wrote to us about your disgusting endeavors when you were a little girl?”, they all laugh. Spiro leans towards her and gives her a kiss, then he whispers in her ear: “thankfully… I do love some of those ‘disgusting little things’ you do to me…”, she blushes badly and whispers back: “Spiro!”, he giggles and kisses her again. She kisses him back, happy to hide her blushed cheeks in his face. Larry makes a smirk and looks at Nancy with knowing expression. Nancy swats him, laughing.

  * In that moment a large bowl is circulated around the table. It is full of eggs that have been boiled with various plants that have given their shells a bright red coloration. Louisa turns to Spiros: “more food? I must pass on this. I can’t possibly eat more”, Spiros looks at her and the Durrell children: “you can’t refuse these, really. This is an important Easter tradition. Everyone needs to pick an egg. It’s like a game. You will enjoy it”. They look perplexed but they each take an egg. Then the game begins. Each person is to ‘fight’ the person next to them with their egg. One holds the egg in their clasped hand, with the tip up, and the other uses the tip of their egg to hit the tip of the other person’s egg. The person whose egg is cracked loses. The winner gets to play their egg against the tip of someone else’s winning egg. Once all but one egg tips are cracked, the game is repeated with the rounder bottom end of the eggs. In the end only one tip and one round egg bottom are left uncracked. The winning tip is Louisa’s who is now laughing hard: “you were right, love, this is fun!”, he smiles at her: “now you have one last ‘fight’, with the person whose egg still has an intact bottom. You should win it because the tip is usually harder and cracks the bottom part”, she looks around: “who still has an intact bottom?”, the children, Spiros, Christos, Dimitra, Spiros’ brothers, and anyone who understands English all bursts into laughter. Louisa looks at them perplexed, then she blushes violently, suddenly realizing the double meaning in her sentence. Spiros father gets up: “ego’*!”, Spiros laughs even harder now: “let’s not translate that sentence, please!”, the Durrell children all laugh.

(*transl: me!)

  * Meanwhile Spiros’ father has walked around the table and has reached Louisa, holding his egg in his hand, intact bottom up: “to avgo’ sas, nyfi mas”, she smiles at her father in law: “entaxei”, she uses the tip of her egg to hit the bottom of his egg and cracks it. Larry makes a smirk: “if anyone had ever told me you’d crack your father in law’s bottom with your tip, mother…”, she blushes: “Larry!”, Spiros begins laughing so hard he can hardly breathe. The others all laugh too. Spiros’ father looks perplexed: “giati’ gelas?”, Spiros smiles: “tipote, patera, tipote”, his father looks at him with stern gaze: “mi mou psemata, o gios mou”, Spiros suddenly becomes serious: “lypamai, patera. Ine ena angliko asteio. Den borei’ na metafrastei’ sta ellinka’”, Dimitra jumps in to help: “nai, den borei’”, Spiros’ brother jumps in too: “kanenas borei”, Spiros’ father looks perplexed but decides to give up. He turns to Louisa: “syncharitiria, Louisa, kerdizete ola ta avga’!”, he gives his egg to her, and everybody around the table hands theirs too. Louisa pales: “ola?!?”, Spiros laughs: “don’t worry, love, you don’t have to eat them all now!”, Dimitra laughs too: “you can bring them home and have them tomorrow for breakfast. That’s what I do when I happen to win the Easter eggs”, Louisa smiles at her: “thanks for the advice, Dimitra, I will follow it”, she collects the boiled eggs. Spiros’ mother gets up, hands her a small basket for the eggs, then she hugs her. Then she turns towards the people sitting at the table: “afto’ itan ena simadi tou Theou’. Ise enas apo emas tora, Louisa. Mia alithini’ elliniki’ nyfi”, Katherini jumps up, all excited: “nai!!!”, Louisa smiles at her and Spiros’ mother sweetly. She looks very moved. She hugs Spiros’ mother: “efcharisto’! Afto’ pou eipate me kanei poly’ eftychismeni”. People around the table are smiling sweetly now. Even those who were not too sure about acquiring this foreign family member, are looking at her with friendly eyes now. Dimitra whispers: “good job, Louisa, you have all Halikiopoulos on your side, now. Not an easy endeavour, believe me, I know…”, Christos puts his arm around her shoulder, pulls her towards him and gives her a soft kiss: “you sure have _me_ on your side, love”. Spiros smiles, then hugs Louisa and gives her a long kiss: “s’agapo’ poly’, nyfi mou”, she happily returns his kiss: “kai ego’ s’agapo’ poly’, gampro’ mou”, they kiss again. Everybody at the table smiles sweetly. Leslie notices that: “their molasses always work”, Margot smiles: “yes, those two can ‘sweeten’ anybody’s heart”.

(trnsl: your egg, our bride; ok; why are you laughing?; nothing, father, nothing; don’t lie to me, son; I am sorry, father. It’s an English joke. It can’t be translated into Greek; yes, it can’t; nobody can; congratulations, you have won all of the eggs; all?!?; this was a sign of God. You are one of us now. A true Greek bride; yes!!; thank you! What you have said makes me very happy; I love you very much, my bride; I also love you very much, my groom).

  * Spiros’ mother and several other women leave the table and go to the kitchen. Meanwhile Spiros and Louisa keep kissing for quite some times. The children look at them and at each other with teasing gazes. Gerry chuckles: “hopelessly romantic”, Katherini giggles: “yes, always _consenting_”, they all smile sweetly. Finally, after several minutes the two lovers stop kissing. Spiros grabs Katherini who is taken by surprise and shrieks. Then he hugs her and places a big kiss on her cheek, tingling her neck: “I hope you are _consenting_ too, koukla mou, because I want to eat you with kisses”, she giggles, hugs her dad’s neck, and gives him a big kiss: “of course, bampaka”. Everyone is looking at them with sweet smiles. In that moment, Spiros’ mother arrives with a large tray with several cups and plates and puts it on the table: “kafe’ kai glyka’ gia olous!”, then she hands a plate full of sweets and a Greek coffee to each of them: “metrio gia sas, nyfi mou”. Louisa makes a tight smile: “efcharisto’!” then she turns towards Spiros: “I feel like I will never be able to eat again. I am soooo full”, he laughs: “have some coffee first, love. It will help. Then you can just have a small taste of the sweets”. After the sweets, Spiros mother and the other women bring large platters full of fruit. Everybody munches on the fruit and remains seated at the table. The conversation continues, but it is generally much quieter now. Larry is holding his arm around Nancy’s shoulders. She is leaning her head against the crook of his neck, her eyes semi-closed. Larry whispers: “all is quiet now”, Margo smiles: “everybody is sleepy”, Gerry laughs: “comatose, is the word”, Louisa chuckles: “yes, because of too much food”.

(trnsl: koukla mou = my doll; bampaka = daddy; coffee and sweets for all!; half-sweet for you, my bride; thank you!)

  * Spiros smiles, gets up, and goes inside the house. He returns with his father’s bouzouki and hands it to him: “patera, irthe i ora na chorepsoume”, his father takes the bouzouki and begins playing a Greek traditional dance. One of Spiros’ brothers also begins playing his bouzouki. Leslie gets up: “not a bad idea, it will help with digestion”, he grabs his sister’s hand and they start dancing. Gerry, Leslie, Mihalis, Katherini, Larry, and Nancy join them too. The Greeks around the table look very pleased about those foreigners doing such a good job with their dances. Spiros reaches for Louisa’s hand: “as chorepsoume tin agapimeni nyfi mou”. She smiles, takes his hand: “entaxei, as chorepsoume, agapi mou”, and they join the dance. The Greeks all get up and begin dancing too.

(trnsl: it’s time that we dance; let’s dance my beloved bride; ok, let’s dance, my love)


	36. Exit Plans

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Exit plans. Louisa, Spiros, their children and their friends all get real about having to leave Greece. The war is progressing and so do their plans.  
Some fluff too, for our two lovers as well as other couples around them.

  * Wednesday April 12. Larry approaches his mother and Spiros who are sitting at a small table by the sea wall, drinking Greek coffee: “the BBC said the invasion of Albania by Italian forces was completed yesterday. Louisa is surprised: “that was quick!”, Spiros nods: “less than a week. The Albanian army did not stand a chance against the Italians. Mussolini has been building very strong armed forces”, Louisa adds: “well, at least I hope that means not too many people were killed or injured”, Spiros looks at her: “I sure hope so. But it also means a very strong and aggressive army is now right across from us. He points towards the Albanian coastline, “Albania is less than two miles from our house”, Larry nods: “and those aircrafts over there are Italian air bombers, and those crackling noises we hear, are the sound of machine guns, being carried across the strait by the wind”. They are all looking very serious and worried, now.

  * Thursday April 13, Mihalis and Katherini are at the house, playing in the back garden. Spiros returns from his taxi job: “here is today’s post”, he puts several letters on the kitchen table. Margot grabs her usual letter from Jack and sits in the living room to read it. Louisa opens a letter from England, reads it, then makes a worried face: “my bank in London is saying that I might be cut off from funds if I remain abroad. They can’t guarantee the successful transfer of my pension to my Greek account anymore”, Spiros hugs her lovingly: “well, we will be fine for a while. We do have enough funds between our two accounts”, Larry nods: “but it really is time for serious plans to return the family to England”.
  * Later, Spiros goes to town and picks up the countess, Dennis, Dimitra, and Christos. They all sit around the Veranda table, having tea. The gathering is similar to others, but today the topic is a lot less cheerful than usual. Louisa begins: “the news about the war is becoming more concerning”, Spiros agrees: “not only is Albania under Italian occupation, but also, more and more soldiers are getting here. The Greek government is stationing a very large contingent along the east coast of Corfu facing Albania. And the British government is flying more armed personnel to their base”. Christos adds: “yes, Corfu town is full of soldiers. I am quite worried for Dimitra”, Spiros looks at her: “you should never go out alone”, she nods: “I know... everything is becoming difficult and dangerous. At this point I can’t wait to leave, really.”, Christos takes her hand: “me too, I don’t know what I’d do if anything happened to you, love”, Louisa looks at them both: “why don’t the two of you and the children stay here? This house is not on the path of those soldiers and we already have plans in place to make sure at least one of our men is always with us, women, especially when we go to town”, Dimitra looks uncertain. Louisa looks at her with frank eyes: “I know living together will feel strange, but you and I have come a long way with our friendship”, Dimitra smiles: “we have, …and with our lives”, she looks at Christos now. He smiles at her sweetly, still holding her hand in his: “I think we should accept this generous offer, love. I’d be a lot less worried when I have to leave you at home to go to work”, Dimitra smiles at him sweetly and nods. Louisa makes a big smile: “it’s settled then. You should pack your things and move here until we all leave for England”.
  * Christos continues: “speaking of that, I went to the consul this morning. He said he has heard from England. They are organizing an evacuation ship out of Corfu Town for early- or mid-June. As soon as he has the details he will contact all British nationals on Corfu and nearby Ionian islands”, Louisa turns towards the countess and Dennis: “any news about your visas?”, Dennis nods: “I have submitted our two applications two days ago. The consul said he’d process them as soon as he could”, Louisa smiles: “I am happy you have decided to go with us, Dennis”, he looks at the countess, blushed: “of course, I couldn’t let her go without me”.
  * Spiros sits back: “well, as a group we need to make a plan”, Dimitra looks at Louisa and her children: “we don’t really know England, so we will trust your judgment”, Dennis agrees: “me too”, Leslie begins: “aunt Patience and aunt Prudence said we can stay with them when we arrive”, Dimitra seems surprised: “even us?”, Louisa nods: “yes, they said between the two of them they have room for all of us”, the countess seems surprised: “that’s very nice of them”, Louisa smiles: “yes, they are very loving relatives”, Larry smirks: “differently from some others…’, Leslie adds: “they live close to each other so we won’t be truly separated. And they live in north London and I think that is good. It will be easier to find jobs and settle in a big city”, Gerry seems unconvinced: “maybe…”, Louisa knows why Gerry is reticent: “...but big cities don’t have much wildlife, eh son?’, he blushes: “sorry, that was very selfish. Of course we should stay in London if that makes it easier for us all to settle back in England”.
  * Spiros looks unconvinced: “big cities may be easier for some things, but riskier for others”, Louisa’s worrier face immediately appears: “riskier?”, he makes a sad smile: “if the Germans decide to attack England they will attack big cities, especially the capital”, Larry agrees: “yes, that would be the most obvious strategy”, Dimitra looks worried too: “then we should not stay in London. We are going to England to bring our children to safety. We shouldn’t stay where danger is high”, Louisa nods: “I couldn’t agree more”, Spiros agrees: “how about Bournemouth? You used to live there”, Louisa nods: “yes, we used to own a house there. It is a nice town, by the south coast”, Gerry looks happy at the idea: “it even has a nice beach”, Leslie agrees: “and enough business that we can probably still find jobs”, Larry nods: “it seems to make sense to me”, Christos agrees: “and to me”, Louisa proposes: “why don’t we do this: at first, we stay in London with Patience and Prudence. While there, we can take trips to Bournemouth. There is a good rail line with daily trains. We can look around, see what the job and housing situations are like, and if things look good, we can move there”, Dimitra agrees: “that seems like a sensible plan to me”, the countess smiles: “and to me”, Spiros hugs Louisa: “let’s do that, then”, Louisa nods: “very well, I will write Patience and Prudence. Meanwhile we should all continue packing trunks with things we don’t use much here and ship them to aunt Patience. She says she has plenty of room in her basement to store them until we arrive”. She gets up, and writes Patience’s address on a piece of paper which she hands to Dimitra. Then she turns towards the countess: “you should have it already. Do you need another copy?”, Dennis replies: “no thank you, I have saved the one you gave us recently and I have copied it in my address book”.

  * That evening, Spiros drives to town and returns with Dimitra, Christos, and his children. Louisa looks at Katherini and Mihalis and smiles: “your beds are ready in your usual room”, the children run off to their bedroom. Then Louisa turns towards Christos and Dimitra who are holding a suitcase each: “welcome, let me show you to your room”, she takes them to one of the guest rooms in the attic: “here you will have privacy. We have no other guests at the moment. And here is the bathroom”, Dimitra smiles: “thank you so much”, Christo agrees: “yes thank you, you are giving me true peace of mind, knowing that Dimitra is safe when I am not with her”, Louisa smiles: “happy to help. Please, make yourself at home. Take your time, we will have supper in about an hour”, then she goes back downstairs. Larry and Spiros are in the kitchen. Larry is reading a book, Spiros is preparing biftekia, with minced meat, onions, bread crumbs, eggs, parsley, oregano, mint, and olive oil. She hugs him from behind: “those look delicious, love”, he turns his head towards her and gives her a tender kiss: “not as delicious as you, my love”, She blushes and whispers in his ear: “shhh…”, too late, Larry is already laughing, with a mischievous smile… she swats Spiros who is also laughing naughtily. Still blushed, she busies herself making various vegetables to go with the biftekia. Baked potatoes and several curried stir fries.

  * In the next few weeks they all pack their belongings in trunks which they then ship to England. Meanwhile, unknown to Louisa and the others, Larry, Nancy, and Margot continue making plans to remain on Corfu. They are sitting on the bench at the back of the garden. Larry is explaining: “my friends have found what looks like a perfect solution. A fisherman’s cottage out of town, at the end of a very inconspicuous road. We can live there with Greeks and we can disguise ourselves as Greeks, with traditional clothing. We can also dye our hair black”, Margot is happy: “excellent. I have told Jack. He is worried I’d be in danger but he agrees that at least for now the danger is not very high”, Nancy smiles: “and he wants you here, for the same reason that you want to stay”, Margot blushes, Larry smiles: “this time it’s serious, sister, isn’t it?”, she makes a sweet smile: “he says he wants to marry me”, Nancy smiles: “that’s very sweet, Margot. I’d wait, though…”, Larry continues: “until you know him better”, she smiles: “I know, I know, sometimes you talk like mother, Larry”, he smiles: “well, she does say things in our best interest…”, “I know…”, then she looks at Larry and Nancy: “how about the two of you? You seem to have rekindled your old relationship, at a deeper level, this time”, the two of them look at each other sweetly, then Larry replies: “we have. We want to get married too”, Margot smiles: “that is wonderful, when?”, Nancy is looking at Larry sweetly: “we don’t know yet”, Larry explains: “we haven’t decided whether we want to do it before or after Mother and the others leave. Margot smiles: “oh, you should do it before. Mother would love to be present!”, Larry nods: “I know, we will talk to the British consul and arrange a date”, Nancy smiles: “hopefully he is available while your family is still here. His office is being very busy with the evacuation”.

  * May 1st. Spiros returns from town with the post. Louisa and Leslie are on the Veranda. Spiros hugs and kisses Louisa, and announces: “there is a letter from the consulate”, he opens it: “it’s about the evacuation. The ship organized by the British government will leave on Sunday June 11th. We are to gather at the docks at 10AM. For each family unit one person is to report to the consulate to book passage on the ship. They need a list of family members, as well as documentation that they have entrance to England. Passport, British birth certificate, proof of residence, or visa”, Louisa interjects: “oh, I hope the countess' and Dennis’ visas are ready!”, Spiros nods: “I’d hope so, the consul said he was going to process them quickly and we know when he says that he means it”, she smiles: “yes, he is being so nice to us”, Spiros continues reading the letter: “information about the ship’s layout will be posted soon, at the consulate”, Louisa adds: “we will need to be on the lookout so that we can book cabins that work for us”, Spiros smiles: “we should coordinate with our friends to see whether we can share with them”, Louisa agrees: “yes, the countess and Dennis, but also the Petridis, the Stephanides, the British judge and Georgia”, Spiros adds: “and the consul and Soula?”, Louisa nods: “yes, if they leave with us. I think he may need to stay behind for as long as British troops remain on Corfu”, Spiros adds: “maybe Soula will leave with us. If it was my family, I’d want them off to safety even if I had to stay behind”, she smiles sweetly: “I know you would, but if I was your wife, I’d want to stay with you, not leave without you”, he smiles sweetly and wraps her in his arms: “you _are_ my wife”, she kisses him: “and I wouldn’t want to leave you behind”, he kisses her too: “but I’d want you to be safe…”, Leslie laughs: “are you quarreling over an hypothetical situation that won’t happen?”, they all laugh, Spiros chuckles: “we seem to be good at that”, she smiles sweetly: “as the countess said, if these are our rows…”, he continues: “…then our marriage is going to be happy”, she smiles sweetly: “very happy…”, they kiss. A long kiss. Leslie smiles.

  * That evening, the Durrell children, Dimitra, Christos, Mihalis, and Katherini are all in the kitchen. Gerry and Margot are cooking. Louisa walks in: “oh, I was going to do that!”, Margot smiles at her mother: “not tonight mother, we are preparing a surprise, so please leave the kitchen and return with Spiros at 8PM”, Louisa looks amused: “a surprise?”, “yes mother, just please do as I’ve asked”, “are you going to make supper for everybody?’, Gerry laughs: “don’t worry about that, mother, just go please”, Dimitra smiles: “don’t worry, Louisa, we will help them”. In that moment, Spiros walks in, Margot turns towards him: “Spiro, please, take mother away. We are preparing a surprise”, Spiros looks surprised too. Gerry smiles: “why don’t you two go on one of your romantic walks?”, Spiros makes a big happy smile: “always happy to do that!”, Margot smirks: “and do dress up a bit when you get back”, Spiros and Louisa look puzzled, but they leave for their walk, holding hands, their fingers interlaced. Later, they return to the house and find Leslie waiting for them: “you are not to walk beyond this point. You shall go up to your bedroom through this entrance”, Louisa and Spiros are more and more baffled, but they follow the instructions. As they walk towards the stairs, Leslie calls after them: “and don’t come back downstairs before 8PM!”. They are in their bedroom now. Spiros looks at his wristwatch: “it’s not even 7PM, plenty of time…”, he makes a mischievous smile and wraps his arms around her waist. She smiles at him: “yes, plenty…”, then she reaches for his lips and gives him a long kiss, her tongue reaching into his mouth. He happily returns the kiss and begins touching her, then he mumbles into her mouth: “well, since we are to change, we might as well remove these first”, and he begins removing her clothes. She removes his. They make love…
  * At 8PM they go downstairs, wearing their nicer clothes. The 6 children, Nancy, Christos, and Dimitra all smile. Margot is holding Katherini’s hand: “please, follow us”, they lead them to the veranda where they have placed a small table, with an embroidered white tablecloth all set up with their nicer plates and silverware. Margot walks there and lights two scented candles, then she turns towards Louisa and Spiros: “welcome to your eleventh 1st of the month date, lovebirds!”, Louisa and Spiros look very surprised. She looks moved: “oh, I thought we’d not have a date tonight because the taverna is always so full of drunk soldiers that it has become too unsafe”, Larry smiles: “hence, our idea of a ‘date’ dinner at home”, Gerry and Mihalis pull the chairs back and smile: “please, sit down”. Louisa and Spiros sit down and the children bring the food they have prepared. A full meal, including appetizers, main course, and dessert. A bottle of champagne is sitting in a bucket full of ice. Louisa looks surprised. Margot explains: “compliments of your friend countess Mavrodaki”. After they serve each course, the children return to the house for their own supper, and leave them alone on their romantic date. Louisa and Spiros enjoy their food, the champagne, and their date. Spiros is staring into her eyes with a sweet smile: “we must be the luckiest parents on earth. Our children as so wonderful”, she smiles: “yes, we are very lucky”, he reaches for her hand on the table: “in so many ways”, they lean towards each other and exchange a long loving kiss, on the patio by the sea, enjoying the warm evening, on their beloved island, which they will have to leave sooner than they’d ever want to… 

  * The next day. Louisa and Spiros are having tea at the countess’. Louisa is informing the countess and Dennis of the latest evacuation news: “so the news is that the ship back to England will depart from the port of Corfu Town on June 11th. We are to book passage and we need to show proof we are allowed into England. Are your visas ready?”. Dennis is sitting with them, as he usually does lately: “the consul says he will have them ready for pick up in a couple of days at most. And yesterday we have sent a third trunk to your aunt Patience, Louisa”, she smiles: “so have we. I will write to her to let her know they are on their way”, Spiros nods: “Dimitra and Christos have also received the letter from the consulate and sent trunks. I am happy things are progressing so well. The British consul says the evacuating ship will have some cargo space, but they will likely limit the number of trunks each family can store there”, the countess looks at Dennis sweetly: “and we do have lots of things here”, Dennis makes a happy smile. So does Louisa. It has not escaped to either of them that the countess has talked about her and Dennis as ‘we’. Dennis takes the countess hand in his, looks into her eyes, and makes a very loving smile. She looks back into his eyes very lovingly. They lean towards each other and exchange a soft kiss. Louisa and Spiros look at each other with knowing expression and smile sweetly. Things are clearly progressing. The countess has been looking more and more involved with Dennis lately.
  * Louisa takes an envelope out of her handbag and hands it to the countess: “we have a couple of photos that we thought the two of you may like”, the countess takes them out and holds them in between her and Dennis. Dennis leans in to look at them with her. The photo on top is of Spiros and Louisa in their wedding gowns, and the countess and Dennis standing next to them: “how lovely, thank you! We will put it in a frame”, then she looks at the second photo, of the two of them hugging during the slow dances, and blushes, Dennis makes a sweet smile: “I didn’t realize Leslie was taking photos!”, Spiros smirks: “you couldn’t see that, could you? Your eyes were closed…”, he blushes, then he turns towards the countess and strokes her cheek softly: “I was just enjoying the moment…”, she smiles at him sweetly: “me too…”. They kiss again.
  * As they get up to leave, Louisa smiles: “I was wondering whether you would mind it if Spiros and I took a stroll in your gardens before we drive home. The flowers are beautiful at this time of the year”, the countess replies: “of course I don’t mind. That’s actually a nice idea”, she turns towards Dennis: “why don’t we join them?”, he smiles at her very sweetly: “of course!”. They all get up and walk outside. Spiros and Louisa holding hands. The countess and Dennis arm-in-arm. Louisa and Spiros reach the fish pond. She turns towards him and gives him a kiss, then makes a smirk: “this should bring back memories”, he smiles looking puzzled: “memories?”, she laughs: “yes, of when you stole some of these fishes for Gerry’s pond!”, he feigns innocence: “me?!?!?”, she laughs: “yes, my dear, you! I made Gerry apologize back then, but I don’t think you ever have!”, he laughs: “you are so right. I should!”, they turn around and see that the countess and Dennis have stopped walking. They are sitting on a bench a few meters behind them. In that moment they see Dennis wrapping his arm around her shoulders, leaning towards her, and reaching for her lips with his. They exchange a soft kiss. Louisa and Spiros smile sweetly. At first, the countess returns the kiss, but after a few seconds she pushes Dennis away. He looks at her with very sad eyes, then he gets up, murmurs something with sad voice, and walks away, towards the house. The countess remains on the bench, looking very sad. Spiros and Louisa look at each other: “you get him, I get her”.
  * Spiros walks up to Dennis who has almost reached the house: “wait, my friend, what’s the rush?”, Dennis stops and turns slowly. He is crying: “there is no point. I don’t see why I should keep deluding myself…”, Spiros reaches him: “but… what’s just happened? I thought things were progressing between the two of you. She has been rather affectionate towards you lately”, Dennis wipes his tears: “she always does that. Whenever I feel we are making progress, she pushes me away. It’s clear she doesn’t love me and I am just a fool hoping she ever will…”, he is crying again. Spiros looks at him sweetly: “I am not sure what has happened just now, but from the way she has been looking at you recently, it is clear to me that this is not just your own delusion. I know she cares about you. It shows in her eyes… You need to be patient, my friend. She may need more time, but I really think she is getting there…”, Dennis looks at him with teary eyes: “oh I so wish you were correct, Spiro…”.
  * Meanwhile Louisa walks up to the bench and sits near the countess: “what was that, my dear?”, she looks at her with sad eyes: “honestly, I don’t know it anymore”, Louisa looks at her friend and makes a soft smile: “you pushed him away…”, “yes, in that moment I had a clear memory of kissing my husband on this very bench and I…”, she cries now, Louisa puts an arm around her shoulder: “what do you feel for your husband right now?”, she answers with a whisper: “I don’t know”, “is it love? Grief?”, she thinks for a bit: “it’s neither, really. It used to be. Especially grief. It was always there. Each time I thought of him”, “not anymore?”, “now I almost have no feelings when I think about him. It’s a strange new sensation. As if he no longer belonged with me”, Louisa smiles sweetly: “that’s my experience exactly. Thinking about Lawrence does not bring up feelings. Just memories. Even when I think about very nice memories that are full of love, they are past memories and the associated feelings belong with that past. They do not carry over to today. It’s when my thoughts about Lawrence changed that way that I realized I had put him in my past and I was ready to move on. Maybe that’s what’s happening to you. You are putting your husband in your past”, the countess thinks for a while: “maybe you are correct. Living here, in his house, keeps bringing up those old memories, but the feelings have changed”.
  * They are quiet for a bit then Louisa looks at her and asks: “what do you feel for Dennis?”, she looks at her, blushed: “I think I am falling for him”, she smiles sweetly: “so you are putting your husband in your past and you are falling for Dennis… yet, you push him away”, she makes a sad smile: “I am a mess, aren’t I?’, she replies with sweet voice: “you are the psychiatrist, my friend. Now, _you_ tell me what that means... I think you do know it…”, she thinks for a while, then she smiles at her: “now that you have worded it that way, I know it very clearly what this is: guilt”, Louisa smiles: “that’s what I thought. I felt really guilty too, when I realized I no longer grieved for Lawrence. I thought I was somehow betraying him”, “but now you don’t think that…”, she smiles: “I don’t. I think life has a way of moving us forward and I have now reached the next phase. The phase where Spiro is the man I love and Lawrence is the man I used to love. I no longer feel guilty about that. Maybe you are reaching that phase too…”, the countess nods: “I think you are correct… thank you, you helped me see that it is guilt I am experiencing”.
  * Louisa nods: “have you ever told Dennis how you feel about him?”, she looks down: “I haven’t, I thought those intruding memories of my husband were telling me I was not ready for him yet. But now I see they actually are an expression of my guilt, _because_ I am ready for Dennis. That must be why those memories appear each time I feel I am getting closer to Dennis”, Louisa looks at her sweetly: “I think you should tell him. You should embrace this new phase in your life. You seem ready for it”, the countess looks towards Dennis, then she smiles sweetly: “you are right… I should… I will…”. Louisa gets up and smiles at her sweetly: “Spiros and I will be going now. You and Dennis need to talk alone”.
  * Louisa approaches Dennis and Spiros who are still standing near the house door, looking their way. She smiles at Dennis: “she would like to talk to you”, he looks at Spiros with very sad eyes: “told you, she is going to end whatever it is I was deluding myself we had”, she smiles sweetly: “you should just go there Dennis, the two of you _really_ need to talk”. Dennis makes a sad smile, then walks to the bench. He sits next to the countess. She takes his hands in hers, looks into his eyes, and begins talking… Louisa and Spiros go to the car. As they are leaving the grounds, they see that the countess and Dennis are kissing again and there is no pushing back this time. They smile sweetly. Spiros asks: “so what was that about?”, she makes a sad smile: “guilt”, “guilt? About what?”, “about letting go of her husband and falling for Dennis”, he looks at her now: “did you feel that too?”, she smiles sweetly: “I did, but in our case it was all complicated by the fact that you had a family and I thought I had no hope anyway”, he smiles sweetly: “you know, I did feel guilt too, for falling for you and betraying my family”, she smiles sweetly: “do you still feel that guilt?”, “sometimes I do, especially for my children”, he looks at her lovingly: “but when I see that they are happy, Dimitra is happy, and you and I are happy... then I know it was all for the better”, she puts a hand on his thigh as he is driving, then she makes a loving smile: “it was complicated, but it all worked out in the end”, he turns towards her: “I can’t think of my life being any other way now. I can’t think of us not being together”, she smiles, leans towards him and gives him a kiss: “neither can I”. He stops the car on the side of the road: “I love you”, “I love you too”, he reaches for her, wraps her in his arms, and they kiss. A long kiss…
  * Meanwhile Dennis and the countess remain on the bench, hugging and kissing lovingly for a long time. Evening comes. The sun begins settling behind the mountains of Corfu. Shade engulfs the gardens. He touches her hands: “you are freezing, my love, let’s go back inside”, she nods and smiles sweetly. When they reach the foyer of the house they stop and kiss again. Another very long kiss that becomes more and more sensual, their tongues exploring each other. Suddenly, she stops and looks into his eyes. He tenses, looking worried and sad, expecting her to push him away again. Instead, she grabs his hand and leads him upstairs. She stops by the closed door of his bedroom. He seems unsure. She looks at him sweetly: “aren’t you going to let me in?”, he looks at her very, very, lovingly, reaches for the door, and pushes it open. Then he gently picks her up and carries her through the door. She holds herself onto his neck, laughing: “careful, don’t drop me!”, he laughs: “of course I am careful, my love!”, he puts her down on the bed, sits next to her, leans towards her, and gives her a long kiss. She wraps her arms around him and happily returns it…

  * The next day (May 3rd). After dinner, Dimitra, Christos, Mihalis, and Katherini are out for a walk along the path at the back of the house. The Durrell’s siblings, Louisa, and Spiros are still sitting at the table on the veranda. Spiros takes Louisa’s hand: “we have an announcement”, the children look at them surprised. Margot smiles: “you’ve just got married, what else are you scheming up, now?”, Larry smirks: “pregnant?”, Spiros and Louisa laugh, “unlikely, since I have received a hysterectomy 14 years ago, son”, Larry laughs: “I didn’t know!”, Margot smiles: “I knew it… women stuff…”, Larry is curious: “then what is it?”, Spiros explains: “we enjoyed our honeymoon so much that we want to have another, on the occasion of the first anniversary of our 1st day of love, June 1st”, Leslie laughs: “well, we guessed you were enjoying it when you decided to prolong it”, Gerry smirks: “an extra-long honeymoon”, Louisa is blushed now: “it’s not really another honeymoon. It’s more like a brief holiday, just the two of us, before we all leave Corfu”, Spiros gives her a loving kiss: “I prefer to call it a honeymoon. It’s more romantic”, she smiles sweetly: “whatever we call it, we have booked a 3-night stay in Paleokastritsa. We will leave on Thursday June 1st and return on Sunday June 4th”, Margot smiles: “good for you! Whatever you call it, I am sure you will enjoy your time away from us!”, Gerry smirks: “before you are stuck with the lot of us for the long trip back”, they all laugh.
  * Larry takes Nancy’s hand and smiles sweetly: “since we are in the mood for announcements…”, Louisa smiles happily at Nancy: “you are pregnant!”, Nancy laughs: “not that I am aware”, Louisa smiles and waits for them to continue, Larry smiles: “I have asked Nancy to marry me and she has accepted!”, Louisa makes a happy smile: “oh, I am so happy for you!”, she gets up and hugs them both. Gerry, Margot, Leslie, and Spiros also get up and congratulate them. Louisa smiles happily: “so we will plan a wedding back in Bournemouth…”, Larry smiles: “actually, we’d like to do it on Corfu, before the evacuation”, Louisa looks surprised: “so soon? There will be no time for planning it!”, Nancy explains: “we don’t really care about big celebrations”, Larry nods: “we’d just like us all and maybe a few friends to gather at the British consulate and celebrate our wedding there”, Louisa looks disappointed, but then she makes a big smile: “whatever makes the two of you happy”, Larry continues: “we have talked to the consul. We will marry on Thursday May 18th”, Louisa smiles: “excellent, we can still plan a big lunch after that!”, Larry and Nancy smile sweetly, look at each other lovingly and kiss.

  * Sunday May 7. They all get up late and are looking very relaxed, enjoying their weekend breakfast. Margot smiles: “Spiro your pancakes and omelets are wonderful, as always”, Mihalis, with his mouth full, agrees: “they are!”, Spiros makes a happy smile: “thank you!”, Louisa laughs: “you are all becoming very spoiled!”, Larry, also with his mouth full, adds: “and fat!”, they all laugh. Margot smiles: “speaking of spoiling, mother, you said if I invited Jack for tea you’d spoil him with biscuits and scones”, Louisa smiles sweetly: “I meant it. Happy to, whenever he is available”, Margot smiles: “this Wednesday he has the afternoon off the base”, Louisa agrees: “excellent, we can plan for tea here, then”.
  * The day Jack is invited for tea. Louisa is in the kitchen, busily making scones, biscuits, cakes, and several Indian desserts. Gerry is helping her. Spiros walks in from his driving job in town. He makes one of his big happy smiles: “I am back!”. Louisa lifts her head: “welcome back, my love. You should make lunch today. I have done nothing. I was too busy with this”, he walks up to her and wraps her in his arms: “of course, happy to make lunch”, he gives her a tender kiss, then he looks at the kitchen table, which is completely full: “how many tea guests are we having today?”, “it’s us and Jack, love”, he makes a smirk: “then there will be plenty of leftovers”, Gerry laughs: “I have been saying that all morning. There is enough food here for all of Jack’s comrades!”, Spiros smirks: “indeed!”, Louisa makes a big smile: “if there are leftovers he can bring them back to the base. I am sure his fellow soldiers will appreciate that”, Spiros laughs: “do you plan to spoil them all just because your daughter is dating one of them?’ she laughs: “maybe… jealous?”, he laughs: “well, I liked to think you spoiled only us and our friends with your wonderful cooking, my love, but it seems I was mistaken”, then he makes a pretense pouting face. She smiles at him sweetly and kisses him: “enough silliness, love, time to make lunch now”, he makes a military salute: “yes ma’am, always at your orders, my commander in chief”, she laughs and continues preparing sweets.
  * That afternoon, all is ready for tea. Larry and Margot drive to town to pick up Jack. Meanwhile, Louisa and Spiros finish setting up the living room table, then, Louisa makes a stern voice: “Gerry, make sure your animals stay away from the food while I get ready for our guest”. She goes upstairs. Spiros follows her. She wears one of her nicer dresses, fixes the curls of her hair, and applies a light make up. Meanwhile he changes his shirt, then sits on the bed, watching. She smiles: “you are staring, Spiro”, “I can’t help it, my love. The light entering through the window and reflecting off you is nicely highlighting your unmatchable beauty”, she turns towards him: “always so romantic, my love. I may spoil the soldiers, but you sure spoil me with all that flattering”, he reaches for her hand, pulls her towards him, and has her sit on his lap: “it comes easy with you, my love”, then he gives her a long and very sensual kiss. She gasps out of air: “behave love, Margot and Jack will be here soon”, he makes a mischievous smile: “worried we may give them ideas?”, she smiles back, gives him another kiss, then: “off you go back downstairs, love. I will re-apply my lipstick and join you soon”. He makes a pouting face with big puppy eyes: “fine, fine… then I might as well clean up what is left”, he gives her another long kiss, making a smearing mess of her lipstick. She happily returns the kiss, then wipes the lipstick off his and her own lips, before applying more: “let’s go back downstairs now, love”, she takes his hand and they go to the living room.
  * Just in time, Margot and Jack are walking in, hand in hand, Margot looks at her family and makes a big happy, though a bit nervous, smile: “this is Jack! Jack, this are my mother and her husband, Spiros”, he looks nervous as he smiles at them: “Mrs. and Mr. Halikiopoulos, it’s a pleasure to meet you. Margot always talks about you”, she smiles back: “it’s Louisa and Spiros and we sure do hear about you too. It’s nice to finally meet you in person”. They all smile, sit down and have a very pleasant afternoon, drinking tea and enjoying Louisa’s wonderful sweets. It all goes very well. Jack seems to fit in really well, and Margot can’t stop smiling happily all afternoon. A few hours later jack smiles at them all: “this is being really nice, but I am afraid I must break the party. I need to be back at the base in 30 minutes”, he is looking at Margot lovingly: “happy time with you always flies”, she looks back at him with a sweet smile. They lean towards each other and exchange a long kiss. Louisa is watching, smiling sweetly. Then she packs several sweets and hands them to Jack: “for you and your fellow soldiers”, he accepts them gladly. Larry grabs the car’s keys: “let’s go, then!”.
  * As the 3 of them are leaving the house, Nancy makes a big smile: “Jack, we’d be very happy if you could attend our wedding next Thursday”, he turns towards her and Larry: “if I can get the day off the base I’d be delighted to join you. Thank you for the invitation, Nancy!”. It is clear from that exchange that they all know each other rather well. Louisa seems surprised. Larry notices that: “we have been on double dates, mother”, she smiles: “excellent. I am happy you are bonding with your younger sister, Larry. I hope you keep an eye on her”, he makes a smirk: “of course, mother, always…”, then he throws a knowing glance at Margot and Jack. Louisa notices it, but says nothing. After they have all left, she turns to Spiros: “well, I am happy they spend time together, but I can’t help an odd feeling about those four. As if they were hiding something”, he hugs her: “stop fretting about everything, my worrier. They are just young lovers having a good time”, he gives her a tender kiss, then he whispers in her ear: “I can only wish them to have as good a time as us, ‘old’ lovers…”, she makes a pretend upset face: “old?!?!”, he laughs: “uh, oh, I am in trouble now. I’d better amend this”, he gives her a long kiss, wrapping his arms around her. Then he takes her hand and leads her upstairs, to their bedroom. She happily and willingly follows him…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A few historic notes:
> 
> 1) As I've mentioned earlier, Larry and Nancy were married all along. So with this latest development I am just 'fixing' the historic imprecision in the TV series (and Gerald Durrell's books)
> 
> 2) As for Margaret Durrell, Jack Breeze was, indeed, her first husband and she did meet him when he was stationed in Corfu. I am not sure about the timing of things, though. In some reports (Michael Haag's book) Margot initially returned to England with her mother, but stayed there only for a brief period. She decided to return to Corfu to live with Greek friends (the Kondos family, dressing like a Greek to hide) and she met Jack at that point. Other accounts (several articles all of which copy each other, I think, so they are not really independent sources of information), instead, report that she did not return to Greece with her mother and brothers. She remained behind, hiding with Greek friends. Regardless of the report, they all agree that she met Jack Breeze after her mother had returned to England. So I have changed that historic fact for my story here. I just liked the idea that Louisa would witness the first true love of her only daughter (well, only surviving daughter).
> 
> 3) some of you may have noticed a difference between my narrative here and the TV series. In this chapter I am alluding to an early episode (in season 1, I think, but I am not 100% sure) where Gerry gets some goldfishes stolen from the countess' gardens. In the TV series the thief is Kosti, the convict, while here I am saying it was Spiros. Well, the story of the stolen goldfishes is reported in Gerald Durrell's book and in there it's Spiros who does the stealing, with the help of some other guy that in the books remains unnamed ('an ancient and bewhiskered individual'). In the books, Gerald Durrell also says the fishes were stolen from 'the palace in which the Greek King (or any other visiting royalty) stayed when he descended on the island'. So for this story I've kept the historic truth as reported by Gerald Durrell that it was Spiros who did the stealing, combined with the TV series' version that the fishes were stolen from the countess' gardens. Half and half... 😉
> 
> 4) last, sorry lots of historic notes today, in his books Gerald Durrell reports returning to England by train. Well, Michael Haag, who had interviewed several family members, reports they returned to England via a long trip by boat because going through Europe by train had become too dangerous. I am not sure what to make of this, other than the fact that it is generally acknowledged that Gerald Durrell was far from precise in his books and he often either made up stories or massaged facts to fit his narrative. 
> 
> Speaking of Gerald Durrell's imprecisions, do we want to open a discussions as to why this grown man (at the time he wrote the books, several years after their stay in Corfu) who had lost his father at age 3, neglects to mention the wives and families of the men who presumably played important paternal roles in his childhood? I am referring to his oldest brother Lawrence who was an important mentor for him (and encouraged him to pick up writing), Theodore Stephanides, whose critical role in his development as a naturalist is well known, and Spyridon Halikiopoulos about whom he speaks very fondly in his books. Obviously, in the 4 years they lived in Corfu he must have met Theo's and Spiro's families (there are reports of a close friendship between him and Alexia Stephanides, Theo's daughter, and of a friendship with Spiros' son Mihalis). So why wouldn't he mention them? It's almost as if he wanted to appropriate those men for himself, to make up for his missing father.... just an idea (I am NOT a psychologist). But I'd be curious to learn your take on it...


	37. Of weddings and second honeymoons

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Larry's and Nancy's wedding  
More war news  
Long weekend in Paleokastritsa  
Departure plans

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had to allow them some more fun on Corfu before they left. I just couldn't help it. So here you go, below, a brief second honeymoon, among other things... 😉

  * Thursday May 18th. The day of Larry and Nancy’s wedding. It’s 5AM. Louisa quietly gets up, wears a dress, and slowly opens the door of their bedroom. The door squeaks, she mutters: “darn…”, Spiros stirs, then with very sleepy and groggy voice he whispers: “kalimera, agapi mou”, he turns and stretches his arm into the empty space near him. When he realizes Louisa is not in bed with him, he opens his eyes and sees her standing by the door: “what are you doing already dressed?”, he looks at his wristwatch and groans: “it’s early…”, he turns towards the window: “it’s still dark…”, she whispers: “I know, but I wanted to get a head start on the preparations for today’s wedding lunch”, he stretches and makes a wide yawn, then he gets up too: “knowing you, there is nothing I can say to persuade you to go back to sleep”, he walks up to her and hugs her. He gives her a long kiss, then he makes a sweet smile: “I might as well help you, then, my worrier”, she smiles back: “I am not going to refuse that offer”, she gives him a loving kiss, then she goes downstairs. He quickly gets rid of his pajamas, wears a pair of trousers and a tank top, and joins her in the kitchen. The house is still quiet. They make themselves a quick breakfast, then they begin preparing food for the wedding. While she makes several meat pies, he goes outside and starts a fire in the front garden. He puts in several large olive tree logs, to make coal for the souvla. Then he goes back inside and mixes ground meat with onions and various herbs to make biftekia and keftedakia. Then he prepares several souvlakia with the pork cubes he has put into a lemony marinate the night before and lays them on the table, ready to be grilled later. Then, they both prepare various vegetables to go with the meats. Louisa makes her famous curries and a large mound of pilaf rice. Spiros prepares melitzanes papoutsakia, gemistes piperies, melitzanosalada, and tirokafteri. Then, he walks to the whole lamb he has put in marinate last night: “I need your help now, love”, she helps him carry the lamb outside. They insert the large iron spit (souvla) into the lamb and set it over the burning coals, onto iron holders. Then, they take turns continually turning the spit so that the lamb can cook slowly and uniformly, over several hours.

(trnsl: kalimera = good morning; agapi mou = my love; bifteki = similar to a burger; keftedakia = meatballs; souvlakia = skewers (lit: small souvlas); souvla = a large spit; melitzanes papoutsakia = stuffed eggplants/aubergines (lit: eggplant ‘slippers’); gemistes piperies = stuffed peppers; melitzanosalada = a dip made with eggplants; tirokafteri = a dip made with feta cheese and grilled hot peppers)

  * Christos and Dimitra get up early too. They eat breakfast, then they join them outside, taking turns turning the spit. Dimitra comments: “it feels like Easter”, Spiros smiles: “Larry and Nancy seemed to enjoy the lamb souvla this past Easter, so I thought we should make it for their wedding”, Louisa makes a sweet smile: “we all loved the lamb on Easter day”, Christos smirks: “all except Gerry…”, Louisa makes a sad smile: “yes, he eats meat now, but he does not like the idea”, Spiros nods: “especially when it is the whole animal and it looks like one of his beloved sheep”, Louisa sighs: “that son of mine is on a path to become the new Theo”, they all laugh, then Dimitra comments: “well, I don’t see anything wrong with that. Theodore Stephanides is a very nice man”, Louisa makes a sad smile: “I suppose it is a good thing, then. I only hope he can continue pursuing his interests even in England. He has been very happy here. He was very unhappy when we lived in Bournemouth. I worry he may revert back to that”, Spiros takes her hand and looks at her sweetly: “not this time. We will make sure he can pursue his dream of setting up a zoo. I will help him”, she smiles at him: “thank you, my love. I don’t know what I’d do without you”, he makes a sweet smile: “you’d be just fine. You are a strong woman. You have raised your children on your own so wonderfully”, he leans towards her and they kiss. Then she smiles sweetly: “I suppose I’d manage on my own if I had to, but I am much happier I get to do it with you now”, he kisses her again: “we will always do things together, for as long as we live, my beloved wife”. He wraps his arms around her. She hugs him back and they kiss.
  * Meanwhile the children are all up too. They have breakfast and join them outside. They sit around the fire and take turns with the spit. Nancy smiles: “thank you so much for making the souvla, I love it!”, Larry is hugging her: “…and I Love you…”, she turns towards him: “I love you too…”, then she smirks: “almost as much as the souvla”, he makes a pouting face; “almost?!?!?”, she laughs. They kiss. A long loving kiss. Louisa is looking at them sweetly, then she grabs Spiros’ hand: “we need a bath, love. After all that cooking we both smell like garlic and onion”, he hugs her and puts his nose in the crook of her neck: “I respectfully disagree. You smell good, my love, very appetizing…”, the children laugh, she blushes: “well, instead, you do smell like onion”, he makes a pouting face, she gives him a kiss: “that sweet face will not get you out of taking a bath, love”, he laughs and follows her upstairs. Gerry makes a smirk: “an extra-long bath?”. Larry laughs: “good thing we all took our baths earlier. I suspect that room will be busy for a while”, Nancy laughs: “maybe…”, then she turns towards Margot: “I should get ready too”, Margot gets up: “yes, let’s get you ready, dear bride. I will do your hair and makeup”, Nancy smiles: “thank you, Margot!”.
  * Later, Louisa and Spiros return to the souvla, wearing their nicer clothes. Louisa smiles: “you should all get ready now, the appointment at the consulate is for 11AM”, Leslie looks at Gerry and Larry: “I can continue turning the souvla while you all get ready”, Louisa makes a stern gaze: “you shall dress up too, darling”, he laughs: “I will mother, but it doesn’t take me long”, she pushes him towards the house: “go and get yourself ready, darling. Spiros and I can take care of the souvla”. Later, they move the souvla off the coals, add more logs to make more coals for later, and drive to the consulate. Spiros drives Larry, Nancy, Louisa, Margot, and Gerry first, then he returns to pick up Leslie, Mihalis, Katherini, Christos, and Dimitra. At the consulate they find their usual friends, Lugaretzia, the Petridis, the Stephanides, the consul and Soula, the judge and Georgia, the countess and Dennis who have become inseparable, as well as Jack and several of Larry and Nancy’s bohemian friends. Larry and Nancy exchange their vows, the consul celebrates the marriage, then they all return to the house for the party lunch. They move the souvla back onto the coals to complete the cooking, and warm up the food they have prepared earlier. They set up several tables on the patio and they all enjoy the wedding celebrations. Spiros has also arranged for the usual musicians and they all have a very good time dancing. As instructed by Spiros, the musicians play modern European and American music. After several dances, Larry and Nancy approach the musicians and talk to them. To the others’ surprise, the musicians begin playing Greek traditional music. Larry and Nancy walk up to his mother and Spiros, Larry smiles: “we have all become a bit Greek in these 4 years in Corfu. I really wanted that to be reflected in our wedding”, Nancy agrees: “and not only in the excellent food”, then they walk back to the dancefloor and join their family and friends who are already dancing in a large circle.
  * Spiros and Louisa walk towards the sea wall. He hugs and kisses her. She looks at him lovingly: “this paradise island has placed a Greek mark on all of us. Not only on my Spiros-shaped heart”, they kiss again, then he smiles at her sweetly: “you are speaking more and more romantically, my Anglo-Indian beauty”, she looks into his eyes lovingly: “your fault, my romantic Greek, I can’t help it when I am around you”, they kiss again, a long love kiss, “I love you”, “I love you”.
  * Meanwhile, Larry and Nancy have stopped dancing. They are sitting at a table, resting. He has his arm around her shoulders. They exchange a loving kiss, then they turn to look at their guests who are dancing and having a good time. Jack and Margot approach them and sit at their table. Larry asks: “what do you think, time to tell mother about our plans to remain in Greece when they leave for England?”, Margot looks towards her and Spiros, still standing by the sea wall, kissing: “let’s wait until after their second honeymoon”, Nancy comments: “she will be very upset”, Margot makes a sad smile: “yes, and we don’t want to spoil their last romantic holiday before they leave the island”, Larry agrees: “you are right, sister, we can wait until after their long weekend in Paleokastritsa”, then he turns towards Nancy and takes her hand: “let’s join the dances, my love”.
  * Margot and Jack remain seated at the table. He leans towards her and wraps his arms around her, she returns his hug and they kiss. They continue kissing for quite some time, more and more sensually. After a while she gets up, takes his hand and leads him into the house, towards her bedroom. Spiros and Louisa are watching, he looks at her: “do you want me to stop them? I will be nice but firm”, Louisa smiles: “I have never stopped my sons from following their heart. I won’t stop my daughter either. If this is what she wishes, she is old enough to decide for herself”, she looks at Spiros with a sweet smile: “I know this is not what most parents would say, but I truly believe in allowing my children, all of them, boys and girl, to be their own independent persons”, he smiles at her sweetly: “I know and I admire you for that. Still, it must feel strange to think that your own daughter, right now, in your own house…”, she smiles: “it sure does. I’ve said I let them follow their heart. I’ve never meant to say it comes easy to me, as their mother. I only hope he is the right man for her. She is clearly very in love”, Spiros smiles: “he seems in love too”, “I know. That’s why I am not going to stop them now. Only the future will tell whether or not he is the man for the rest of her life. He sure seems to be the one right now and that is what truly matters. After all, none of us knows what the future holds”, Spiros hugs her tightly: “true, but I do know one thing: my future has you in it and this makes me so very happy”, she looks into his eyes sweetly: “I am very happy to have you in my future too, Spiro”, they hug and kiss, many times.

  * A few days later, May 22nd, 1939. They are all sitting in the living room, listening to the BBC news on the wireless. The voice of the radio announcer is very serious: “today Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini have signed a Pact of Steel. This new alliance between Germany and Italy formalizes the 1936 Rome-Berlin Axis agreement, further linking the two countries politically and militarily. The prime minister of the United Kingdom, The Right Honourable Neville Chamberlain and our monarch, King George VI have both expressed their concern over this latest development”. The news ends. They all sit quietly, very pensive. Louisa speaks first: “things are looking worse and worse…”, Larry comments: “this doesn’t change much. Hitler and Mussolini were already best friends…”, Spiros nods: “true, I only wonder what else they have agreed upon, behind closed doors”, Dimitra looks sad: “whatever that is, it can’t be good news for Greece”, Christos takes her hand in his: “good thing we will be leaving soon”. They all nod and remain quiet, each of them thinking…

  * Thursday June 1st. Morning. Louisa is awake, looking at Spiros who is beginning to wake up too, with little twitches. He opens his yes, she gives him a soft kiss: “good morning, my love, happy anniversary!”, he smiles sweetly, wraps her in his arms, and answers with sleepy groggy voice: “happy anniversary. This has been the best year in my whole life”, they exchange a long kiss, then she stirs: “let’s get ready so that we can go on our holiday”, he makes a sweet smile: “honeymoon…”, she gives him a kiss: “fine, honeymoon, if you prefer…”, still holding her in his arms he gently strokes her under her pajamas: “mmmm yes, I definitely prefer to call it a honeymoon. It brings back fun memories”, she giggles: “let’s get up now love”, he makes a naughty smile: “yes, let’s go to Paleokastritsa and make more fun memories”, she makes a naughty smile too: “let’s go, then…”.
  * Spiros is loading their suitcase and beauty cases in the car. Louisa looks at her children: “look after yourself and the house!”, Margot smiles: “don’t worry, mother, enjoy your honeymoon number 2!”, Louisa continues: “there are fruit, vegetables, and eggs on the counter, cooked food on the cooker, cheese, yogurt, and milk in the ice box….”, Gerry laughs: “mother!!! Just go and enjoy your break, will you?”, Leslie calls: “Spiro, help, please!”, he laughs, grabs her hand and gently drags her towards the car: “let’s go, my beloved worrier, the children will be just fine without us”, she laughs, goes to the car, then turns back: “goodbye!!”, Larry waves his arms: “have fun, lovebirds!”.

  * After less than an hour they are checked in their hotel in Paleokastritsa, on the west coast of Corfu. Louisa speaks with happy voice: “this room is lovely, look at that view!”, she is standing on the balcony, looking at the almost perfectly circular Paleokastritsa cove, its long beach, and the beautiful marine landscape. Spiros approaches her and wraps his arms around her from behind: “this view is lovely, but the one I am holding in my arms is a much lovelier view”, she leans her head back, against him, laughing: “you are such a charmer…”, he turns her around in his arms and gives her a very long kiss. She returns it happily, opening her mouth to let him in. They keep kissing more and more sensually. He unbuttons the back of her dress and puts his hands on the naked skin of her back. She moans: “behave love, people may be watching”, still kissing her, he murmurs in her mouth: “they should be rather entertained, then”, she giggles, then she takes his hand and leads him back into their bedroom. He follows her closely, keeping his hand on the skin under her dress. As soon as they are in the room, he pushes her dress to the floor, removes her bra, wraps his arms around her from behind, and gently grabs her breasts, kissing her neck and earlobes. She moans, turns around and reaches his mouth for another long passionate kiss. She undoes the buttons and pushes his shirt and suspenders off him. Then she kisses his neck and chest. He moans, kneels and removes her underwear. He puts his face into her and reaches for her sex with his tongue. She moans deeply. He lays her on the bed and continues licking and sucking on her. Her body responds with several shivers, until she comes with a sudden more intense shiver, contracting her thighs against his head, with a very deep groan. He lays on the bed next to her, slowly moving his fingers in her, and watches her while she comes down from her high. She keeps her eyes closed for several seconds, then murmurs: “wonderful…”. He smiles sweetly and gives her a loving kiss.
  * She looks at him: “you are still too dressed, my love”, then she removes his trousers and underwear, wraps his erection with her hand and moves it on him slowly, applying a small squeeze that enhances his sensation. He moans deeply, then he grabs her and gently positions her with her back on the bed. He enters her gently then whispers: “hello, my beloved wife, welcome to our second honeymoon”, she smiles sweetly: “hello my beloved husband, welcome in…”. They exchange another long sensual kiss while he begins moving on her slowly, pulling almost completely out and entering her again, each time more deeply. They both moan. Then, he accelerates the rhythm. She wraps her legs around his back. He keeps thrusting deeper and deeper until he is really close to climax. He reaches down with his hand and massages her clitoris. This brings her over the edge too. They come together…
  * Then they lay on the bed for some time, hugging relaxed, enjoying their post-pleasure moment. Louisa whispers: “now I understand why you insisted calling this a second honeymoon”, he makes a naughty smile: “yup, my intentions all along”, she giggles: “mine too…”, he gives her an open mouth kiss: “happy to hear that…”, then he reaches down with his hand and begins stimulating her again, she reaches down for him and finds a clear erection. She makes a sweet smile: “already, my love?”, she begins moving her hand on him. He moans: “it’s the effect you have on me, my love. Always”, he continues touching her, inserting his fingers and moving them the way he knows she likes. She moans. He sits up, pulls her on him in their seated position. He enters her and begins thrusting again. She moans, moves on him, pushing deeper and deeper, quicker and quicker, until they come again with deep sighs.
  * Later, they get up, wash, unpack their suitcase, wear their swimming costumes and beach robes, and go out for a walk along the beach by their hotel, holding hands, their fingers interlaced. The place is very quiet, with only a few other couples and families enjoying the beautiful beach of Paleokastritsa (paralia Agios Spyridon). Louisa sighs: “this is so nice. The war seems so far away right now”, he smiles sweetly: “this is why I proposed this place. Most soldiers are stationed along the north-east coast, across from Albania. This side of the island is still fairly quiet. Perfect for our second honeymoon”, she smiles sweetly: “thank you my love, this was such a lovely idea”. He stops and pulls her towards him: “not as lovely as you”, she giggles: “charmer…”. They kiss lovingly, then they continue walking along the beach. 
  * The next day they go to the Paleokastritsa harbor and arrange for a boat tour with a fisherman, Pavlo. He takes them to visit a few local sea caves and grottos. At the famous Blue Eye Grotto, Pavlo stops the boat. Spiros strips down to his swimming short: “let’s dive in, my love”, she blushes, then she takes off her dress revealing her bikini. He smiles at her, grabs her hand, then they both slip into the blue waters, surrounded by a school of fishes. They enjoy a long swim, playing and giggling, stopping for loving hugs and kisses. They are standing in the neck-deep water in a dark corner of the cave, hugging. Their bodies very close to each other. Spiros reaches with his hand inside her bikini: “mmm, if only Pavlo was not here…”, she giggles: “behave love, he _is_ here”, he rubs himself against her:” I am in trouble already”, she smiles sweetly: “I know, I can feel it. It’s a pretty big _trouble_”, he giggles: “how am I going to go back on the boat without Pavlo noticing?”, she makes a naughty smile: “I may be able to help…”, then she turns him with his back towards Pavlo, puts a hand in the flap of his swimming shorts and begins moving it on him, slowly at first, then quicker and quicker. He is standing in the water, leaning against her, with his face in the crook of her neck, panting heavily. His moans become louder and more noticeable. She quiets him with a long and deep kiss, until he gasps in her mouth and fills her hand… Then they stand hugging for a few minutes, until he regains control: “thank you my love, that was wonderful”, she smiles sweetly and gives him a loving kiss.
  * When they get back to the boat, Pavlo helps them up, then he takes them to their next destination. A small and secluded beach, accessible only by boat. He drops them off there, with a basket with their beach things and a picnic. Then: “tha sas doume to apogevma” and he leaves. They are left alone on the beach. They lay towels in the shade: “so that my white bride does not sunburn”, then they sit and eat their food, washing it down with a bottle of wine. Louisa is eating: “that was a very good bakery. This tiropita is excellent”, he smiles with his mouth full: “the spanakopita is very good too. We can definitely buy food for our picnic there even tomorrow”, Louisa leans her head against his shoulder: “this is so lovely. I wish we could be sitting like this forever and forget all of the problems of the world”, he puts his arm around her shoulders: “me too, just me and you, alone on a deserted beach, eating great food, drinking wine, and making love”, she giggles: “it seems you have naughty intentions again, my love”, he laughs: “don’t pretend you didn’t know it”, she laughs, then she puts a hand in his shorts and moves it on him, triggering an erection very quickly. With her other hand she takes his hand and brings it inside her bikini. He immediately moves it towards her sex. She moans: “mmm… why would I pretend I didn’t know?”, he continues touching her and giggles: “my point exactly…”, she pulls his shorts down, he kicks them off, then he removes her bikini. She lays on the towel, he covers her with his tanned body, enters her, and they make love. Then they lay on the beach, naked, hugging lovingly. They stay there for a few more hours, swimming, drinking, eating, making love, snoozing on the beach, until Pavlo returns to take them back to Paleokastritsa.

(trnsl: see you in the afternoon)

  * That evening they have a seafood dinner at a taverna in town, Louisa is eating her grilled fish: “this is delicious”, “yes, really fresh and well prepared”, she makes a sad smile: “I will miss the Greek cuisine. It is always so tasty”, he smiles sweetly: “why miss? We can make Greek recipes anywhere”, she smiles: “I know, but it won’t taste the same if it is not by a warm beach on Corfu”, he reaches for her hand on the table: “we, me and you, will make it taste good, with our love”, then they lean towards each other and kiss, “yes, my romantic, our love will make everything we do taste good”, he giggles: “this makes me want to taste you…”, he reaches for her thigh under the table and begins stroking lightly under her skirt. She blushes: “behave my love, we are in public…”, he laughs: “then I will need to take you away from the public eye”, she smiles: “let’s go for a walk around town, first”, he makes a sulky pouting baby face with big puppy eyes: “if that is all you want from me, nyfi mou…”, she laughs, gives him a kiss, and grabs his hand: “let’s take a look at this town, my silly gampro’, I will let you know later what I truly want from you”, she gives him a sensual kiss, he happily returns it: “mmmm, I take that as a promise for a tasty dessert menu…”, she giggles. They walk along the narrow cobble stone streets, holding hands, happy…

(trnsl: nyfi mou: my bride; gampro’ = groom)

  * On Saturday they explore the town and nearby area. First, they go on an excursion to the monastery of Theotokos, at the end of a winding road up the nearby promontory of Agios Spyridon. Louisa looks happy and relaxed: “this 12th century monastery is so well preserved. Really beautiful!”, he takes her hand and leads her to the edge of the cliff: “how about this view?”, she makes a wide happy smile: “breathtaking”. He hugs her and gives her a loving kiss: “as breathtaking as my beloved nyfi”, she smiles sweetly: “or my agapimeno gampro’…”. They sit on a bench overlooking the cliffs and they have their picnic lunch: “this is delicious, gampro’ mou”, he hugs her and places many kisses along her neck and shoulder line: “mmm this is more delicious”, she laughs sweetly: “behave love, we are not alone”, he laughs: “yea, and the monks of the monastery may appreciate the spectacle too much”, she giggles. Then they drive back to town and walk to the famous Ampelaki beach for a relaxing afternoon. The beach is very quiet, with only a few other couples. They lay down their towels and put their beach basket on them. Then they take a swim in the beautiful clear water. When they run out of the water they lay on their towels and promptly doze off, hugging tenderly. When they wake up it is evening. The sun is low on the Ionian Sea, casting a beautiful amber light. She stretches: “mmmm this light is so lovely. It looks as if the sky is on fire”, he wraps his arms around her: “the fire in the sky crowns this perfect day, and reflects the warmth of our love”, she lifts herself up and looks at him lovingly: “my love, you are so sweet and romantic that sometimes the British in me doesn’t know what to do with it”, he gives her a long kiss that becomes more and more sensual, then he puts his hand inside her bikini: “I may be able to recommend a few ideas…”. She giggles and removes his hand: “hold your horses, my love. We are not alone”.

(trnsl: my beloved bride; my beloved groom; my groom)

  * Sunday June 4th. They wake up late, and laze in bed for most of the morning, talking, giggling, cooing, making love. After a while, he stretches his arms: “mmmm time to get up, my love”, she stretches too: “oh, I wish this second honeymoon would never end”, he smiles at her sweetly: “not a holiday, then? A honeymoon?”, she gives him a soft kiss: “definitely a honeymoon”, he makes a naughty smile: “I wonder what made you change your mind….”, she giggles: “mmmm, I wonder….”, reaches for his sex and begins massaging him. They have already made love a few times this morning, so it takes a bit, but he does get a full erection eventually. He laughs: “I didn’t think I could do that again”, she smiles:” you always boast you can always do it with me”, he laughs and reaches her sex with his fingers: “and you will use that against me, I gather…”, he is moving his fingers in her while stroking her clitoris. She moans: “only if you are up to it, my love….”, he laughs: “are you challenging me?”, she giggles: “maybe….”, he pushes her on her back, opens her legs, moves his body over hers, eases himself into her: “challenge accepted…”, then he begins moving, thrusting, pushing, moaning, until they both come again...
  * Eventually they get up, have a very late breakfast, then spend a few hours on the beach by the hotel, relaxing. After lunch they go back to their room, make love again, pack and drive back home. Back to their children. Back to reality. As they are leaving, Spiros buys the newspaper: “sorry love, it’s in Greek, they did not have any English papers”, “let me drive then, so that you can translate the news for me”. He gives her the car keys. She drives. He reads: “more soldiers deployed to Corfu to deter the Italians from invading us. A large division from Crete has just arrived in Corfu town”. She looks sad. Back to the war. Back to evacuation plans. Away from their Paradise island. He gently strokes her cheek: “we will be fine, my love”…

  * The next day Louisa and Spiros call at the countess and Dennis, for one of their usual teas and also to talk about their departure plans. The countess takes a sip of tea then looks at them: “how was your anniversary holiday?”, Spiros smiles happily: “excellent!”, Louisa agrees: “very relaxing. For a few days we were able to forget all about the war”, “oh that sounds marvelous, my dears. I wish we could all forget the war”, she shivers, Dennis takes her hand: “you are cold, love, let me get you a pullover”, she smiles at him sweetly: “thank you, it’d be nice if you could bring me the green cardigan I was wearing yesterday evening. I’ve left it on the chair by the bed before going to sleep last night”. He goes upstairs, then they hear his voice: “I can’t find it!”. He returns to the living room: “it’s not in your bedroom”, she looks at him, blushed: “it’d be in yours…”, Dennis blushes too, looking at her sweetly: “yes… right…”. Spiros and Louisa look at each other with knowing expressions. Dennis and the countess notice that. They are both blushed. Dennis scurries off to get the cardigan. He returns shortly with it and helps her wear it. Then he gently rubs her arms, leans towards her, and places a soft kiss on her lips: “this should keep you warm, love”, the countess smiles at him with loving eyes: “thank you”, then she returns his kiss. Louisa and Spiros smile sweetly, glad to see their friend so happy.
  * Louisa changes topic: “I have received a letter from Patience”, your trunks have been delivered, undamaged and unopened. The countess smiles: “that’s good news!”, Dennis adds: “and the consul has prepared visas for the two of us. I’ve picked them up this morning”, Louisa smiles: “excellent, I am happy all is ready for us all to go together”, Spiros adds: “there is one last thing. The consul has posted the layout of the ship being organized by the British authorities. It will have only 6- or 8-people cabins. No private cabins for couples”, Louisa comments: “fair enough, it’s an evacuation, not a cruise”, Spiros nods: “I know. At least they do have cabins with matrimonial coots”, Louisa turns towards the countess and Dennis: “I’d rather share with couples we know. Would you like to share with us and the British judge and Georgia? Gerry, Leslie, and Spiros’ children can stay with Dimitra and Christos and Larry and Nancy”, Spiros adds: “and the Petridis and Stephanides can share with each other, their children, Margot, and possibly the consul and Soula’”, the countess smiles: “yes, I am definitely happier to share with you than anybody else”, Louisa smiles: “excellent, we will fill the paperwork tomorrow, then”.

  * That evening they are all sitting in the kitchen, having their supper. Spiros asks: “any news while we were away?”, Christos replies: “on Friday we went to the consul and gave him the list of our family members to be evacuated to England. We also indicated our preferences for cabin sharing on the ship. As agreed before you left, Dimitra and I will share with all of the children and Soula”, he hesitates now, looking towards Larry and Margot, then he continues: “in a 6-coot cabin”, Louisa corrects him: “8-coot… and Margot will be with the others”, Larry takes Nancy’s hand: “mother, Nancy and I have decided we will not go to England. If Greece is invaded by the Germans and the Italians we will stay here to support the Greek resistance. We will write a clandestine newspaper with news about the war and the resistance”, Louisa looks very surprised: “you won’t…??!? But…”, Spiros puts his arm around her shoulder, but says nothing. Margot swallows a lump in her throat: “I won’t go either, mother. I can’t leave Jack... I hope you understand…”, she is crying. Louisa looks stunned: “but… you can’t… it’s too dangerous…”, she looks at her children with teary eyes: “please, go with us…”, she is crying now. Spiros hugs her, Margot continues: “you must understand, mother, you wouldn’t leave Spiro… and I can’t leave Jack. I love him… and he loves me…”, Louisa sounds very upset now, crying hard: “if he truly loves you how can he allow you to stay here in danger?”, Margot sounds upset too: “I will be careful. Jack knows that”, Larry intercedes: “mother, we have a plan that will keep us safe and together. We will rent a fisherman cottage out of town and we will share it with Greek friends. We will dye our hair black and we will wear Greek traditional clothes. We both speak fluent Greek. If the Italians and the Germans take Corfu, they will not know we are not Greek”. Louisa is still crying in Spiros’ arms, but she does not insist. She knows she needs to let her children decide for themselves, but it is so very hard… Spiros strokes her hair and cheeks, letting her cry in the crook of his neck. Dimitra and Christos are watching. In this moment she is happy her children are too young to take such dangerous decisions. Larry, Nancy, and Margot get up and go outside. They know Louisa will need time to process the news.

  * The following week everybody is busy. Louisa is standing in the kitchen: “almost everything is packed now. Three trunks and a few suitcases. Everything else will stay here for Margot, Larry, and Nancy”. She looks tired and sad. She hasn’t been the same since Margot and Larry have told her about their plans. Spiros walks up to her, wraps her in his loving arms and holds her on his shoulder. She leans on him. They stand like that for a while. Then she lifts her head and looks at him with teary eyes. He looks at her with his eyes full of love and gives her a tender kiss. She returns it. Neither says a word. They don’t need to.
  * The evening before the departure of the ship, Mihalis and Katherini are in bed. The grownups are sitting in the living room, all quiet and sad looking. Spiros looks at Larry and Margot: “tomorrow we will need the automobile to drive to the Corfu Town harbor. Then you folks can keep it. Take good care of it for me, please”, Margot smiles sweetly: “we will, Spiro…”, then Spiros continues: “today I have shipped one last trunk. The other two will meet the family allowance on the ship. And the suitcases will fit in the cabins, with the things we need for the trip”, Larry nods: “the captain has told me it will be a 4-5-week trip, depending upon sea conditions. Make sure you write when you arrive”, Louisa looks at him, Nancy, and Margot: “and you make sure you write frequently”, her voice breaks in a sob. Spiros hugs her. Margot talks with sad voice too: “of course mother, I will write frequently and I will make sure I will remind Larry to write too”, he looks at her: “I don’t need reminders to write, sister. Don’t forget that I am a writer!”, they all laugh, but it is a sad laugh…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is the last chapter before they leave Corfu. Next, the return trip...


	38. The return voyage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The time to say goodbye to Corfu has arrived.  
A long trip back to England.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A longer chapter today. I did not want to break up the return trip...

  * The next day, 11 June 1939, they are all very busy with the departure. The docks are very crowded. All British nationals who live in Corfu and nearby Ionian Islands are gathered at the Corfu Town’s port. Louisa, Gerry, Leslie, Christos, Dimitra, Mihalis, Katherini, and their friends are all together, waiting a few hours in custom with their luggage, until Spiros arrives, talks to the custom agents in excited Greek, and manages to speed the process. Finally, by evening they are ready to board. After the tearful goodbyes, Louisa, Spiros, Leslie, Gerry, and their friends stand on the top deck, waving their arms at Margot, Larry, Nancy, Galini, Lugaretzia, Spiros’ parents, brothers, and cousins, and the numerous other Greeks who have come to the Corfu Town harbor to say goodbye to the many Britons who are leaving Greece today. The ship leaves the docks and slowly moves towards open waters, then it takes a southward direction. She has boarded a first group of British citizens on the mainland this morning, in Igoumenitsa, and she will be stopping in Patra tomorrow, for more. They all remain on the deck for a long time, until the people on the docks of Corfu town are no longer visible.
  * Spiros and Louisa are hugging quietly, both looking sad. She raises her eyes and notices Soula standing next to them, sobbing quietly. Louisa lets go of Spiros and puts an arm around her shoulders. She turns towards her, leans her face against her shoulder and continues sobbing. Louisa holds her in her arms: “he will join you soon”, she keeps crying: “I know, but I will miss him… and I am terrified. What if something happe…”, she can’t finish the sentence, she keeps sobbing on Louisa’s shoulder. Spiros approaches and hugs both women: “the consul will be safe, Soula. He has moved to the British base. He will be protected there”, Soula raises her head: “I know, and he will leave with them if they have to evacuate Corfu”, Louisa smiles at her: “so he will be safe until he can reach you in England”, she nods, still weeping quietly, Louisa asks: “where will you stay in England?”, “with my husband’s family in Lymington”, “do you get along with them?”, “yes they are very nice people”, she smiles sweetly: “then they will take care of you until you and your husband can be reunited. In the meanwhile, you can write to each other often, so that you will feel close even from a distance”. Spiros is still hugging them both: “let’s all go below deck to get organized for the long trip. Maybe you can write your first letter tonight, Soula”.
  * Then they all go to their cabins to settle in. Dimitra and Christos share their cabin with several youths: the Durrell and Halikiopoulos children as well as the children of the judge and Georgia. The Petridis, Stephanides, their children, and a still very teary Soula are sharing another cabin. Spiros and Louisa, share with the countess, Dennis, the judge, and Georgia. There are 3 matrimonial coots. Spiros and Louisa agree to take the top coot. The judge and Georgia are in the middle and the countess and Dennis in the bottom coot. They put some of their clothes in the limited space in the small lockers, and leave the rest in their suitcases, which they neatly stack in one corner. Then they all go to the dining room for their dinner. They are not hungry, though. Everybody is quiet and teary. Louisa has shiny watery eyes: “gosh, this is so hard…”, Spiro wraps her in his arms. He is moved too. He speaks with sad voice: “yes, hard, but everything will be fine. My family will keep an eye on Larry and Margot. They promised. And we will settle in England and build a life there until we can return”, they all nod. They all intend to return. Spiros continues: “we have all done it before. We can do it again. We will be fine”. Louisa lifts her head and gives him a loving kiss: “yes, _we_ will be fine. I only hope those left in Corfu will be fine too”.
  * That evening they retire to their cabins early. Tired after the long and emotional day. In Louisa and Spiros’ cabin they agree on a system that will maintain some privacy for the two genders. The women go in first, change into their pajamas and go to their coots. Then the men get in and change while the women look the other way. Then the men join their women in bed and they all go to sleep. Louisa and Spiros are hugging in their matrimonial coot, which is not very wide, but sufficient for the two of them. They don’t talk for fear of disturbing the others. They just hug and kiss tenderly, communicating all of their emotions that way. Eventually, they fall asleep, lulled by the gentle rolling and pitching of the ship.

  * The next morning, they all wake up early, but stay in bed to avoid disturbing the others. They whisper softly until it is obvious that they are all awake. Georgia speaks first, with tentative voice: “everybody’s up?”, Louisa replies: “we are”, Dennis confirms: “same here”. Louisa switches on her bed light: “well, I must admit I am not going to complain about having electricity again”, the others laugh, the countess adds: “and the first thing I want in England is a telephone!”, they laugh again. Then they apply the evening system, in reverse. The men get up and take turns in the bathroom to shave, shower, and get ready. Then they go to the deck while the women also get up and get ready.
  * Later, they meet up with their families and friends in the dining room. The mood is lighter even if they are all still sad for having to leave Greece. Georgia is eating her eggs: “well, this breakfast is not bad”, Dennis makes a smirk: “not as good as mine”, Spiros smirks too: “or mine…”, the others laugh. Louisa swats Spiros: “always very humble, eh, love?” he makes a funny face: “always!” they lean towards each other and kiss. The countess is looking at Dennis sweetly: “yes, that was not too modest”, he laughs: “maybe!”, she laughs too: “it may not have been modest, but it was very true. Your breakfasts are delicious”, he smiles sweetly, leans towards her and gives her a soft kiss. Florence smirks: “happy to see the number of smoochers increasing”, Spiros makes a wide happy smile: “the more the merrier”. They all laugh.
  * As they are finishing their breakfasts, Gerry is looking at the seagulls out of the windows. He points towards the Greek coastline: “what city is that?”, Theo replies: “Patra. We are stopping there today, to pick up more British nationals”, then he turns the other way: “and those are the islands of Ithaki and Kefalonia’. Pretty eh?”, Soula is still looking sad: “I am hoping they will let us off the ship while they embark the others in Patra. I have written a letter for my husband that I would like to post”, Louisa looks at her sweetly: “I have written a letter for my children too. If they allow it, we can get off the ship together and find a post office”, Georgia asks: “oh, can I go with you? I’d love to breath more Greek air and buy Greek food before we leave the country!”, the judge smiles: “then I will go with you, dear”, Spiros takes Louisa’s hand: “so will I”, Gerry steps in: “I want to go too”, Leslie agrees: “me too”, Alexia’ too: “and me!”, the countess looks at Dennis: “it seems we are all getting off the ship”, Theo is holding Maria’s hand: “if we are allowed…”, in that moment there is an announcement through the ship’s speakers: “in about 3 hours we will be docking in Patra. We will be here for the rest of the day, departing this evening. You are free to disembark the ship if you wish. Just make sure you are back on board by 5PM, for our departure at 6PM”. They all get up, go back to their cabins, and get ready for their day in Patra.

(trnsl: Ithaki = Ithaca; Kefalonia’ = Cephalonia – two ionian Greek islands).

  * That evening they leave Patra. They are all on the deck, looking at the sailors maneuvering the ship out of the Gulf of Patra, back towards open waters. Little by little, people begin going back under deck. Spiros and Louisa remain seated on a bench on the top deck, with a few other people. She leans her head onto his shoulder: “this is it. Goodbye Greece”, she looks really sad. She continues: “goodbye to the country that has given so much to us. Friendship, warmth, serenity, joy, love…”, she is weeping now. He wraps her in his arms: “my love, you can bring all of those things with you. They are part of you now. You are not leaving them behind…”, she smiles at him and gives him a tender kiss: “I know…”, they exchange a long loving kiss: “except warmth. There won’t be much of that in England”, he kisses her softly again: “there will always be the warmth we hold in our hearts, my love”, she smiles sweetly: “yes, my romantic… always…”. They keep kissing lovingly for a while until they join the others under deck.
  * Later that evening, after dinner, they are all sitting in sofas and armchairs in the large living room area of the ship, reading books, writing letters, and playing various board and card games, when there is another announcement: “we have now left the Greek mainland and we will soon be entering international waters. Our next stop will be the port of Valletta in Malta. Depending upon weather and current conditions, we will get there in approximately 4-5 days. During our voyage we will take a route that will avoid the Italian national waters and we will be escorted by two frigates of the Royal Navy. Don’t be alarmed when you see them. They are waiting for us in international waters and they are here to protect us. I invite you all to relax and enjoy our voyage”.

  * Over the next few days, they all enter a quiet routine. Gerry and Theo spend hours on the decks, watching the wildlife, Gerry shouts: “over there! Dolphins!”, “excellent sight, Gerry, I can hardly see them!”, “_Rissa tridactyla_!”, Theo smiles: “excellent, Gerry. Yes, those are fine exemplars of black-legged Kittiwake, adults and juveniles…”. Leslie and Mihalis, instead, follow the sailors around and ‘help’ with various chores. The highlight of their stay on the ship is the day they are shown the engine room. They can’t stop talking about that. Mihalis is talking, rather excited: “bampa’, you should have seen how big that is!”, Leslie agrees: “and noisy. So loud!”, Mihalis adds: “and stinky!”, Louisa laughs: “sounds like the description of our gardens on Corfu”, they all laugh. Katherini is having a good time too, spending her days playing with other children, “mamaka, can I go back to play with my friends?”, “yes, koukla, but you need to finish your lunch, first”, Spiros smiles sweetly: “including your vegetables”, Katherini pouts: “nai, nai, bampaka, to xero…”. The adults spend most of their day reading, writing, playing games, and talking. Right after dinner the captain plays the BBC news over the speaker system and everyone listens quietly. The tension in Europe is increasing. These evacuation trips are not a moment too soon.

(tnrsl: bampa’ = dad; koukla = doll; mamaka = mommy; yes, yes, daddy, I know…)

  * Friends and family all get used to sharing their overnight accommodations. They develop their routines there too. Every evening Spiros and Louisa hug in their coot tenderly and fall asleep in each other’s arms. One morning, a few days later, she is awakened early by searching hands. Spiros is stroking her under her pajamas. She stirs quietly and gives him a long kiss. He returns it, parting her lips with his tongue and reaching into her mouth. She responds eagerly, their tongues dancing into each other’s mouths. He keeps stroking her skin, reaching for her breasts. He gently pinches her nipples until they harden. She closes her eyes and sighs quietly. He keeps caressing her body, reaching down into her pajamas’ bottoms. Her body responds with shivers of pleasure. He reaches inside her knickers and begins massaging her sex. She is really responding now, shaking and panting lightly. Then she stops his hands and murmurs very quietly in his ears: “stop that love. The others will hear us. We can’t do this until we get to England”, he makes a naughty smile then whispers: “I have an idea. Just lean against me a pretend to be asleep”. In that moment, the others begin to raise. After a few minutes the judge and Dennis are ready to leave. They look up towards Spiros and he makes a silly smile, with his index finger on his mouth. He points at Louisa leaning against him and mouths silently: “you go…”. Then Georgia and the countess get up too. Spiros points at the sleeping Louisa and mouths to them too: “sorry, I won’t look”, he closes his eyes, covers them with one hand, and turns his head towards the wall. The women giggle and get themselves ready quietly, then leave the cabin.
  * As soon as they are alone, Spiros gets off the coot and puts the ‘do-not-disturb’ sign on the outside of the cabin’s door. Then he joins Louisa: “just me and you my love”, he puts his head under the bed covers and reaches for her body, tickling her. She laughs softly. He pulls her pajamas’ bottoms down and begins kissing all along her legs: “mmmm, I’ve missed tasting my nyfi”, she giggles and moans: “I’ve missed you too…”, he continues his way up her legs until he reaches her sex: “mmm my sweet honeypot, I couldn’t ask for a better breakfast…”, and he begins stimulating her with his tongue. She moans more and more deeply…
  * Meanwhile, the countess and Georgia meet up with Dennis and the judge. The countess stops in her tracks: “oh, I have forgotten my handbag”, Dennis smiles: “not a problem I can run back and get it”, “thank you, love, it is hanging on a hook by our coot”, “I know!”, he walks away. After a few minutes he returns. He is laughing. “Well, where’s my handbag?”, he keeps laughing: “I couldn’t look for it. The do-not-disturb sign is up on our cabin’s door”, they all look at each other with knowing expressions and laugh. Georgia chuckles: “so very sleepy eh?”, they laugh again and go to the dining room for breakfast. Leslie asks: “where are mother and Spiros?”, the countess smiles: “still sleeping”, Leslie makes a knowing smirk: “really?”, Gerry giggles: “we do know what it means when they don’t show up for breakfast”, they all laugh. As they stand in line with their trays at the cafeteria, Gerry turns to Leslie: “brother, we’d better pick up some extra food for those lovebirds”, Leslie laughs: “yes, they will be hungry later”.
  * Meanwhile Spiros and Louisa are continuing with their lovemaking. He makes her come in his mouth, then he moves up along her body, removing the top part of her pajamas. He reaches her lips with a tender kiss: “good morning my love”, she is still catching her breath: “good morning to you…”, then she undoes the buttons of his pajama’s top and removes it. She strokes his chest and kisses his nipples. They harden. He closes his eyes: “mmm”, she continues stroking his skin lightly and leans down towards his sex. She strips him of his pajamas’ bottom, then she delivers many soft kisses along his body, all around and over his sex. His body is shivering. His eyes are closed now. He is moaning. She takes him in her mouth and begins sucking on his tip, moving her mouth and tongue on him. His moans increase. After a while he grabs her head and stops her: “my love, if you continue that, I won’t last long”, he pulls her towards his face and looks into her eyes: “and I want to make love to you…”. They exchange a long sensual kiss. He turns her onto her back and leans over her body. She reaches down and helps him in. He enters her slowly: “mmm, I have missed being in you, my love”, she smiles sweetly: “and I have missed having you in me…”, he kisses her again: “let’s do it slowly, then. I want to enjoy it as long as possible”, she closes her eyes: “yes, slow, my love”. He begins moving on her slowly and lovingly, covering her in kisses in the process. She responds to his lovemaking with slow hip movements and thrusts that gently meet his. They continue for a while, very lovingly, until their arousal grows and his movements become deeper and deeper. She wraps her legs around his back and begins moaning and panting heavily. He accelerates his rhythm, pushing in her harder and deeper, until she reaches her climax with a soft scream: “Spirooooo”, in that moment he reaches his: “Louisaaa”, then drops on her chest, panting. Afterwards, they cuddle for a while, happy…
  * When they finally reach the dining room it is past breakfast time and the cafeteria is no longer serving food. They sit with the others. Gerry pushes two plates towards them: “your breakfast, lovebirds”, they both blush: “well, thank you, darling”, she takes the plates and they begin eating with good appetite. Leslie laughs: “those energy consuming activities, eh?”, they blush again, but neither picks up on the teasing. They just continue eating. The others all get up and go back to their cabins to brush their teeth. The countess smiles: “see you later on the deck”, then she turns to Dennis with a smirk: “let’s retrieve my handbag from our cabin”, Dennis laughs: “now that the do-not-disturb sign is gone…”. Spiros laughs, Louisa blushes, then smiles: “see you later”, Dennis grabs the countess’ hand and they walk back to their cabin: “that was not a bad idea, my love” she laughs: “not at all”, he stops, gently grabs her waist, and pulls her towards him. They kiss: “maybe tomorrow _we_ can be sooo very sleeeepy”, she laughs: “maybe…”.

  * The next day, they are all standing on the deck when Gerry’s trained and sharp eyes strike: “I see land!”, they all turn and look in the direction he is pointing. Theo is squirting his eyes: “I can’t see anything yet, but if you are correct, we may be approaching Malta”, they all look in that direction. Mihalis shouts: “I think I see it too!”, Katherini screams jumping up and down excited: “me too!”, Louisa sighs: “ahhh, I wish I had those young eyes…”, Spiros laughs: “you’d better not…”, she looks at him puzzled: “why not?”, he chuckles: “you’d notice all of my grey hair and wrinkles and you’d be looking for a young boyfriend”, she spanks his arm: “silly…”, he leans towards her lips and gives her a soft kiss. They both close their eyes and continue kissing. Katherini looks up: “well, you won’t be able to see anything if you keep your eyes closed”, they all laugh, Florence makes a smirk: “indeed!”. The two lovers keep kissing for a while. Then they look at sea again. Louisa is excited: “I can see it now!”, Spiros adds: “me too!”, then he picks Katherini up and tickles her: “see? Even with our eyes closed!”, she giggles: “then, you are Superman! And Louisa is Superwoman!”, he laughs: “Leslie is reading too many American comics with you, koukla mou”.

(trnsl: koukla = doll; mou = my)

  * In that moment there is an announcement: “ladies and gentlemen, we are now in sight of the island of Malta. We will be reaching it during the night and we will dock early tomorrow morning. We will remain for 3 days, to load supplies and board more passengers. You are welcome of go off board if you wish. Just remember to be back on board before 3PM on departure day. And a reminder, the only currency accepted in Malta is the Pound Sterling. If you wish to exchange your Greek Drachmas, the on-board bank office offers the official rate set by the British government”, Louisa turns towards Spiro: “we do have Pounds, but it may be a good idea that we change the rest of our Drachmas. Banks in England may not accept them”, he looks sad now. She hugs him and gives him a tender kiss: “we can keep some, if you wish”, he smiles at her sweetly: “there’s no point. We don’t really know when we will return to Greece and whether or not the same currency will still be in use at that point”, he is quiet for a few seconds, then he continues: “we know nothing, really, why bother to keep drachmas?”, she looks at him with loving eyes: “we do know something: we will return home to Corfu one day”, he smiles at her: “yes, we will. Let’s go change our drachmas, now. I want to buy you a romantic souvenir in Valletta”, she smiles: “we should save our money, not spend it on souvenirs”, he gives her a kiss: “but I want to get you something, to show you how much I love you”, she kisses him back: “you can show that without gifts, love”, he wraps her in his loving arms and whispers in her ear: “tell me how, and I will”, she kisses him lovingly: “I don’t need to tell you anything. You are already doing it, my love”, she hugs him back. They kiss again.
  * The next morning, they all get up and have breakfast early, so that they can be ready to leave the ship. The countess looks happy: “it will be nice to walk on solid ground again”, Louisa agrees: “yes, that will be nice. This ship does feel claustrophobic”. They walk to the ramps that have been set up to allow people to easily leave the ship. Their first stop is the post office. They have all written letters for their families in Greece and England. Soula puts her letters in the post box with a sigh. Georgia puts her arm around her shoulder and whispers: “he will be happy to hear from you”, she smiles: “I wish I could hear from him…”, Louisa adds: “I have decided I will also send a ‘safely in Malta’ telegram to Larry and Margot, why don’t you telegraph your husband? You’ll be certain he receives your news quickly”, Soula smiles: “that is such a great idea. I will do that!”.
  * As they leave the post office, Louisa comments: “it feels strange to hear English in the streets again”, Spiros smiles at her sweetly: “much easier, for you, my love. You should be happy”, she makes a tight smile: “easier, maybe, but I miss hearing Greek around me”, he stops, wraps his arms around her, and looks at her lovingly: “boreis na akouses tin elliniki mou, agapi mou”, she smiles: “to xero, agapi mou, panta”, they exchange a long loving kiss and join their friends.

(you can hear my Greek, my love; I know, my love, always)

  * Then, they all wander around Valletta. Theo explains: “this British protectorate is now the Headquarter of the Royal Navy's Mediterranean Fleet. A safe place for us to stop, refuel, and restock on supplies”. The countess and Dennis are walking hand in hand. She turns to him and smiles: “what a charming little town…”, Dennis smiles back at her: “yes, lovely, especially in such lovely company”, she blushes. He stops, pulls her to him, and gives her a loving kiss. She hugs him and happily returns the kiss. Louisa smiles sweetly, then whispers to Spiros: “if anyone had told me, when I first met her, that she’d be so happy and in love now…”, he smiles sweetly: “she’d probably say the same about you…”, she laughs: “oh, you are so correct! I was a sad widow, back then, with no end in sight for my mourning, and certainly no love in my foreseeable future”, she is silent for a few seconds. He remains quiet, gently squeezing her hand, then she continues: “and yet… here I am now, so very in love with you…”, they stop too, hug and exchange a long kiss. Maria notices that: “it seems our two sets of smoochers are falling behind”, Gerry looks back and laughs: “so typical!”. They all continue walking around, enjoying their time as if they were on holiday.
  * Spiros stops at a jewelry shop: “that pendant looks lovely”, he is pointing at a small golden heart encircling a pearl. She smiles: “it does!”, “let’s get if for you, as a sign of my love”, she smiles sweetly: “I’ve told you I don’t need that type of sign”, he hugs her: “oh, but I want to!”, she smiles sweetly and gives him a soft kiss: “sometimes you are such a child, my love”, he grabs her hand and gently drags her into the shop, giggling: “I know… and you love it”, she laughs: “and you can be so full of yourself when you want to…”, he makes a smug smile: “I know… and you love that too”, she laughs: “maybe…”. They walk into the shop and Spiros buys the little pendant. He gives it to her: “here is my heart, Louisa. For you to keep. I have only one and it belongs to you. Please, take good care of it”, she smiles lovingly: “always such a romantic! You keep my heart safe too, please. You do know you own it…”, they exchange another loving kiss: “see? You are becoming a romantic Greek too”, she laughs: “so I am! …and happily so…”, they kiss again. Florence’s voice reaches them: “whenever you are done smooching, feel free to join us!”, they turn and find that the others are sitting at an outdoor café in Valletta’s city center. They laugh and join them. Soula asks: “did you buy anything?”, Louisa hands her the little box. Soula opens it: “oh, this is lovely!”, Spiros smiles sweetly: “it’s my heart, for Louisa to keep forever”, Georgia comments: “awwww that’s so sweet, Spiro!”, Florence turns towards her husband: “how come you are never that romantic?’, he looks into her eyes, then he speaks sweetly: “hey, that was unfair, love. I always say romantic things to you!”, she smiles sweetly: “oh, that’s so true!”, they lean towards each other and kiss. Maria smiles: “contagious smooches, as always…”.

  * The next day when they wake up they are surprised to find a telegram in the drop box by the cabin’s door. The judge looks at it and hands it to Louisa: “for you”, she opens it and her eyes immediately swell with tears. Spiros looks at her worried: “what is it, love?”, she hands him the telegram. He reads it ‘safely on Corfu, love, Margot, Larry, Nancy’, then he hugs her: “it says all is well, love”, she sniffles in the crook of his neck: “I know…”. He holds her until she calms down. Being away from her children will never become easy…
  * When they join the others for breakfast Soula greets them with a big smile: “my husband has telegraphed back. He says he is good!”, Louisa smiles too: “so have my children”, Soula smiles: “sending that telegram was such a good idea. Thank you for suggesting it, Louisa!”, the two women smile at each other.

  * That and the following day, they all enjoy getting off board while the ship is docked, loading supplies and boarding new passengers. Spiros and Louisa are walking hand in hand. They reach a beach which is next to the port. Spiros laughs: “look there!!”, Maria is sitting on a bench, relaxing, while Theo and Gerry have their trousers rolled up to above their knees and are wading in the shallow water by the grassy end of the beach. Their heads bowed. Their eyes staring into the water. Louisa and Spiros approach Maria, Louisa laughs: “hopeless, both of them!”. They laugh. Suddenly, Theo jolts forward and dips his cupped hands in the water. He raises them with a triumphant smile: “got it!”, Gerry rejoices: “yea, you are fantastic, Theo!”. Maria, Louisa, and Spiros approach, curious. Theo makes a big happy smile and carefully opens his hands, for all to see his precious catch. Louisa smiles: “oh, that’s so sweet!”, it’s a tiny turtle. Gerry makes a big happy smile: “a newly hatched green turtle, _Chelonia mydas_!”, Theo smiles: “yes, a common species in the Mediterranean”, he hands it to Gerry who holds it for quite some time. Then he walks into the water and releases it.
  * Louisa waves her hand: “good luck little one, hope you have a good life!”, Spiros smiles at her sweetly, his arm around her shoulders, then he whispers into her ears: “you really only pretend to scold Gerry. You actually enjoy the animals he brings home”, she giggles: “well, most of them, but don’t tell him, please”, he whispers: “oh, I am sure he already knows”. Gerry has heard: “yes, I do know…”, Louisa smiles: “sharp eye and fine hearing, eh son?”. They all laugh. Gerry smirks: “I didn’t need to hear it, mother. I already knew. You know, it all begun with those pet bears in India…”, she laughs. Spiros looks puzzled: “pet bears?!?!”, she keeps laughing: “I thought you did not remember them, Gerry, you were so little!”, then she turns towards Spiros: “we adopted two orphaned Himalayan bear cubs when we lived in Dalhousie, Himachal Pradesh, in the Himalaya”, Gerry nods: “and Margot has told me that she has rescued me from them a few times when I was a toddler”, Louisa chuckles: “oh that is such an exaggeration! Our bears were very domesticated. They’ve never hurt anyone”, Spiros laughs: “pet bears, my love? Really? Then you truly have no excuses for criticizing Gerry for a simple turtle!”, Gerry laughs: “thank you Spiro, you are the best!”, she laughs: “indeed”, he makes a smug smile: “of course! Nothing short of the best!”, then he hugs her and gives her a long kiss. She happily returns it, murmuring in his mouth: “pretentious and bigheaded…”. He makes a silly smile and touches his head: “that big?”, she laughs: “I did not mean it literally, love. Bigheaded is used for someone who is excessively self-confident and arrogant”, he makes a pouting face with big puppy eyes: “me?!?!?”, she smiles at him very sweetly: “yes, you, my love, unless you think that defining yourself as ‘nothing short of the best’ was an example of humility”, he giggles. She reaches for his lips and kisses him again. He wraps her in his arms and returns her kiss.

  * In the afternoon of their last day in Malta, they are all on board, waiting for their departure. Several new British passengers have joined them. Theo is looking at them: “I was chatting with a few of them. It seems, Mussolini’s fascists have begun to arrest British citizens with the slightest excuses. Some have disappeared and nobody knows what has happened to them. Some of these people have some pretty dramatic stories of escape from Italy.”, Spiros nods: “yes, I was talking with that couple over there. They took a ferry to the Italian island of Lampedusa, then they paid a fisherman to take them here. But because they could not enter the Maltese waters, they left them on a small dinghy in international waters. They waited until the British coast guard found them, hours later, when they were starting to think they would never be found”, Louisa looks sad: “this is awful. If only human beings could learn to love each other…”, Spiros hugs her: “so true!”.
  * In that moment, Louisa eyes Gerry, trying to sneak back on board without being noticed. She lets go of Spiros’ hug, turns towards her son, and looks at him with stern eyes. She says only one word: “here”. Spiros is observing the interaction but says nothing. Gerry approaches her, very slowly. He knows he is in trouble. She keeps looking at him severely. He puts his knapsack down, then he looks at his mother with imploring eyes. She just looks back at him, with unyielding expression. He opens his knapsack. Two snakes and a tiny turtle are inside. Spiros looks at Louisa and laughs: “how did you know?”, she does not reply, she keeps looking at her son, with severe eyes. He whines: “please, mother…”, she shakes her head: “you know you can’t, Gerry…”, he bows his head and walks to the beach near the port. He releases the animals and returns on board. Louisa is waiting for him. He hands his open knapsack for her to inspect. She peaks inside, then she hugs him: “I am sorry, Gerry. You can collect more animals when we get to England. We are not on a cruise. This is an evacuation ship. You know you can’t bring animals into that already overcrowded cabin”, he hugs her, sniffling: “sorry, mother…”.
  * In that moment, there is an announcement. The voice of the captain: “in about an hour we will depart Valletta. Please look around yourself and inform us if anyone from your party has not returned on board. From here, we will head back to international waters. The same two frigates will be escorting us. We should arrive in Gibraltar in 7-8 days”. Gerry makes a big smile: “yea!!!”, Louisa looks puzzled. Spiros laughs: “there are monkeys in Gibraltar. I read an interesting article about them in the National Geographic’s magazine a while back”. Gerry makes a happy smile and runs to Theo, screaming: “did you hear that?!? We will stop in Gibraltar!!!”, Louisa calls after him: “Gerry, don’t scream, and don’t run on board!”, he turns back: “sorry, mother…”, then he continues running towards Theo. Louisa shakes her head. Spiros laughs: “hopeless, indeed!”.

  * Over the next few days the occupants of all cabins pick up on Spiros’ idea. They make use of the do-not-disturb sign so that the various couples can have their moment of privacy. It seems to work well for all. It becomes another established routine on their long trip back home. Louisa and Spiros are sitting on a bench on the top deck. She is reading a book. Mihalis is sitting by Spiros, reading a book in Greek. Katherini is sitting on Spiros’ lap. They are reading a Greek children’s book together. Spiros knows he needs to school his children in Greek if he wants them to retain their culture while abroad. At some point Katherini stops: “where are mamaka and Christos?”, he smiles sweetly: “back in your cabin”, she moves to get off her father’s lap: “oh then I can go there too”, he holds her: “maybe later, koukla”, she looks perplexed: “why?”, Mihalis laughs: “because they want to be alone in there”, she looks at her brother: “how would you know?”, he laughs again: “just a lucky guess…”, Spiros smiles at his son but says nothing. Mihalis continues: “and there was a do-not-disturb sign on the door earlier”, Katherini makes a big smile and looks at her father: “oh, there was one on your door too, but you and Louisa are here, not like the day before we stopped in Malta!”, Louisa and Spiros blush. He smiles: “maybe others want to be alone too”, Katherini looks around. Dennis and the countess are sitting on a bench, not far from them: “it must be the judge and Georgia, then. Why do grownups always want to be alone?”, Mihalis replies with a smug smile: “because they want to make…”, Spiros gives him a stern look. Mihalis stops, makes a naughty smirk, and walks away. Katherini asks: “make what?”, Spiros hesitates: “oh I don’t know…”, Katherini insists: “why don’t you want to tell me, bampaka? I am not that little, you know… are they kissing?”, he is embarrassed now. He looks at Louisa and mouths silently: “help, please”, she smiles at the girl: “remember what I told you about women’s periods?”, “yes, women have those so that they can make babies”, Louisa smiles: “exactly, but in order to make babies, moms and dads need to sleep together”, Katherini seems to accept that explanation and stops asking questions. A very relieved Spiros happily resumes reading the children’s story.

(trnsl: mamaka = mommy; bampaka = daddy; koukla = doll)

  * When the story ends, Katherini asks: “are mamaka and Christos making a baby brother or sister for us?”, Louisa smiles: “that is possible, but it doesn’t happen each time a man and a woman sleep together. It must be the right time of the woman’s period”, “I am going to ask them later!”, Spiros smiles sweetly: “that is a private thing, koukla. It is not polite to ask. If it happens they will let you know”, “oh, so I can’t ask the judge and Georgia either…”, he smiles: “you’d better not, koukla”, “can I ask you and Louisa?”, Louisa laughs: “you can ask, but it won’t happen to us”, “why not, you do kiss and sleep together a lot!”, Spiros and Louisa blush, she explains: “remember what I told you about women’s bodies? That we have a uterus that allows a baby to grow…”, “yes, I remember that. I still have the drawing you have made for me”, “that’s good Katherini. It’s important that you understand your own body. One day you will have a period too”, “and I can make babies”, “yes, when you find the right man”, “the one who loves me the way my bampaka loves you?”, she smiles sweetly: “exactly…”, “then why don’t you make a baby with my bampa’?”, she laughs: “we already have 6 children. That’s plenty enough! And I no longer have a uterus so I couldn’t make a baby even if I wanted to”, Katherini looks baffled: “how did you lose your uterus?”, Louisa smiles: “the doctors had to remove it because it was broken”, “and they couldn’t fix it?”, “they couldn’t, so they removed it”. Katherini seems satisfied with the explanation. She gets off her father’s lap and joins a group of children who are playing hide and seek. Spiros turns towards Louisa: “thanks for doing that. I am not used to talk about women things…”, then he makes a mischievous smile and whispers: “but I do enjoy playing with yours…”, she giggles, leans towards him, and whispers: “I know… and I do like it when you do that”, they exchange a long kiss. He smiles in her mouth: “mmmm we will need that do-not-disturb sign soon”, she laughs: “not our turn, apparently”, “mmm that’s too bad!”, they keep exchanging loving kisses.

  * More than 2 weeks into their trip, they reach Gibraltar. As they approach it there is an announcement: “…we will be here for 3 days, refueling, restocking, and boarding a few more British civilians. You are welcome to go off board, if you wish, however, we strongly advise that you remain within the limits of the Gibraltar’s territory. Spain is not being very welcoming of British nationals lately…”. The next morning, they are all standing on the deck, waiting for the ramps that will allow them to get off board. The countess is eager: “I really need to feel solid ground under my feet again”, Dennis is near her, with his arm around the small of her back. He nods, leans towards her and gives her a soft kiss. She returns it, with a very sweet smile. Louisa and Spiros are standing next to each other. She is holding letters they have written for their families back in Corfu. He is holding a knapsack, for anything they may purchase in Gibraltar. Louisa is looking at Gerry who is standing by Theo, with a big happy smile. She turns to Spiros: “that is the biggest smile I have seen on Gerry’s face in a long time…”, he laughs: “the power of animals…”, holding Spiros’ hand, she approaches Gerry and Theo: “off to the monkeys?”, Gerry replies happily: “yes, mother. Today we are going to St Michael’s cave. Tomorrow we will go to the Rock of Gibraltar and the Ape's Den, to see the famous Queen's Gate troop”, Theo smiles: “those sites should have several troops of Barbary macaques, _Macaca Sylvanus_, the only wild monkeys on the European continent”, Spiros smiles: “oh, that sounds like fun. Mind if we joined you?”, Theo smiles: “of course not! Maria and Alexia’ are also going with us”, Maria smiles: “I’d be happy to have non-naturalist company”, Spiros and Louisa smile, Louisa replies: “then we shall go together”, Soula steps in: “I’d like to go too!”, Louisa smiles at her sweetly: “yes, right after we post our letters and telegraph our families”.
  * For the next two days they all keep going off board, to explore Gibraltar. There, indeed, are monkeys everywhere and Gerry and Theo look as happy as they can be. Louisa is talking to Spiros, Dennis, and the countess: “we will have to inspect his knapsack very carefully. I wouldn’t be surprised if he tried to sneak a monkey into his cabin”, Spiros laugh: “their cabin is already full of noisy little primates”, the countess seems perplexed: “primates?”, he laughs: “yes, all of our children”, they all laugh and continue wondering around the small town, holding hands. Dennis stops at a souvenir stall. He picks up a pair of Mother of Pearl earrings in the shape of coral and puts them by the countess’ face: “these would match the pendant Louisa and Spiros got you from Kavos really well”, she smiles sweetly: “that is so true. They are a perfect match”, he gives her a loving kiss: “and they really bring out the blue in your lovely eyes”, he turns towards the stall owner and hands her the earrings. He pays for them, then he takes them out of the box and puts them onto the countess’ ears. Then he looks at her: “lovely”, she blushes under his adoring eyes: “thank you, you are always so sweet, my love”, they kiss: Louisa and Spiros are standing nearby. They are also kissing. In that moment their friends walk up to them. Maria laughs sweetly: “gosh, all this smooching is almost too much to take. Theo is walking near her, stops, pulls her towards him: “you need a distraction, then”, and gives her a loving kiss. Florence laughs: “too much and contagious, as always”, she turns towards her husband and gives him a kiss too. Gerry rolls his eyes: “the monkeys were more fun to watch…”, they all laugh.

  * On the last day on Gibraltar, Friday June 30th, 1939, they are all on board a few hours ahead of the departure. Louisa turns to Spiros: “can you see Gerry?”, “nope, I haven’t seen him all day”, in that moment Theo approaches them and makes a funny smirk: “come with me…”, they follow him, puzzled, until Louisa is horrified to see Gerry with a small monkey on his shoulder, talking to the ship’s captain! Gerry sees them approaching and makes a big happy smile: “mother, Spiro, the captain says I can keep Papaya in the cargo hold, as long as I take care of giving her food and water, as well as cleaning her cage until we get to England!”, the captain smiles: “the galley produces enough waste that there will be plenty of food for Papaya”, Louisa looks surprised: “Papaya? Cage?”, Gerry makes a happy smile: “this poor little girl was without a mother. I found her on the rock, looking very weak. She is still too young to fend for herself and I couldn’t just let her die. So, I picked her up and gave her a papaya I had bought form a stall for my lunch. She devoured it and immediately perked up and bonded with me. That’s when I decided to inquire whether I could bring her with me. I think the name Papaya is perfect for her”, he is pointing at the small monkey hugging his neck with her little arms. Louisa makes a soft smile: “oh, that is such a sweet little thing!”, she takes Papaya from Gerry and lulls her in her arms. The little monkey immediately hugs her and Louisa’s heart melts. Spiros smiles sweetly: “how about the cage, Gerry?”, he looks at them, with a tight smile: “yes… well… I’d need to find a cage... and pay for it…”, Louisa is looking perplexed. Spiros makes one of his famous wide smiles: “not a problem, Gerry, I have seen a farmer selling cages at the market”, he is pointing towards the little town. Then he turns towards the captain: “do we have time to get off board again?”, the captain smiles: “yes, plenty. We are not leaving for another 3 hours”, Spiros grabs Gerry’s arm: “let’s go then”, Gerry makes a big happy smile: “thank you so much, Spiro, you are the best!”, Louisa laughs: “and he knows the way to your heart, son”, still holding Papaya in her arms, she follows them off the ship. Garry laughs: “well, he sure knows the way to _your_ heart, mother”, Spiros is looking at her cooing sweetly with Papaya and laughs: “I am not so sure anymore”, she smirks at him sweetly: “jealous of a monkey, aren’t we?”, he laughs: “of anything that gets that level of cuddles from you!”, they all laugh, as they rush towards the market. 
  * That evening, after dinner they are all in the large shared living room of the ship. They are sitting in sofas and armchairs around a small coffee table, playing a game of cards. Florence comments: “this was the last group of British nationals we rescue from Europe with this ship”, Theo nods: “apparently Franco’s Spain is following into Hitler’s and Mussolini’s footsteps”, Soula makes a sad smile: “yes, they are going after British nationals, arresting them for no reasons at all”, Dr. Petridis points at the new arrivals: “these are the lucky ones, who have managed to get into Gibraltar”, Louisa looks sad: “I am happy for them, but I am wondering how many we are leaving behind”, Spiros hugs her: “there are other British evacuating ships on their way”, the judge nods: “yes, and they will stop in Malta and here, to pick up any Britons who make it to these British territories. Hopefully, more will be saved”. They are all looking rather sad now.
  * In that moment Gerry arrives with Papaya on his shoulder. As soon as she sees Louisa, the little monkey jumps in her lap and hugs her. Louisa’s face immediately sweetens: “hello, little Papaya”, the others all make sweet smiles. Maria asks: “Papaya?”, Louisa is stroking the little monkey now: “yes. That’s her name, because Gerry saved her life with a papaya”, Florence reaches with a finger and Papaya immediately catches it in her little hand: “oh, that’s so sweet!”, the women all gather around Louisa and fuss over Papaya. The men all smile. Dr. Petridis chuckles: “it seems we have lost them all…”, Dennis laughs: “and I thought Gerry was bad about animals”, Theo laughs too: “you were underestimating maternal instinct, Dennis”, Theo laughs and continues: “and that truly is a sweet little baby”, Dennis is looking at the countess, fussing over the baby monkey still in Louisa’s loving arms, then he turns towards Spiros: “looks like we have competition, my friend”, Spiros laughs: “I have given up on competing here. This is a lost cause. All I can do is: agree to share my wife’s affections with little Papaya”, Louisa has heard him and chuckles: “glad you have come to terms with the idea, love”, he leans towards her and gives her a soft kiss: “I had no choice, had I?”, they all laugh.

  * In that moment the captain’s voice comes through the speakers: “ladies and gentlemen we are now leaving the Territory of Gibraltar. Overnight we will cross the Strait of Gibraltar and reach the Atlantic Ocean. Navigation conditions will change. The ocean’s wave will cause significantly greater rolling of our ship than we have experienced so far. For your information, motion sickness bags are located throughout the ship and cabins. In addition, ginger tea and roots are available at our cafeteria and coffee bars on board. I also advise anyone who experiences nausea to sit quietly on a deck or near a large window and look at steady elements within their field of view, such as a landmass or the horizon”. The countess reaches for Dennis’ hand: “this is the part I was dreading. The last time I was on the open ocean I was very sick”, Theo pales: “me too…”, Dimitra looks worried too: “so was I!”, Spiros smiles: “yes, you were pretty bad on the transatlantic ship to and from America”, she makes a worried face: “it took me days before I started to feel better”, Spiros smiles: “it might have felt a long time, but in actuality you were much better after the first couple of days. You were actually sicker when you were expecting our children”, Christos takes her hand: “let’s think positive, love. Maybe that experience has trained your organism and this time it won’t be as bad”, Dr. Petridis nods: “yes, the vestibular system does habituate to motion”, Dennis has his arm around the countess’ shoulders: “let’s think positive, love”, she reaches for his hand and smiles: “yes, keeping the right state of mind does help coping with physical ailments”, he leans towards her and gives her a loving kiss: “and if _you_ say so, my beloved psychiatrist…”, they all laugh.
  * The next morning, Louisa wakes up early, to the sound of retching. The countess exits the cabin’s bathroom looking very pale and unwell. Dennis jumps up and wraps her in his arms, then he whispers in her ear: “how are you feeling, love?”, she whispers back: “shhh, we don’t want to wake up the others, let’s lay down again, love”, They return to their coot. Louisa is sitting, looking down from their coot at the top of the cabin. Spiros opens his eyes. He sees her up and whispers into her ear: “what’s up?”, she whispers back: “the countess has motion sickens”, he pulls her back down and wraps his arms around her: “it’s still early, let’s sleep a little longer”, she leans into his warm body and closes her eyes. Shortly afterwards they are both asleep. After a few minutes, the countess gets up again, quietly grabs her clothes, goes to the bathroom, and changes. Dennis sees that and changes into his clothes too. When she exits the bathroom, he puts his arm around her shoulders and they leave the cabin together. Two hours later they are all up. The ship is moving noticeably more than before. The judge gets up and immediately reaches for the handle on the coot, to avoid falling. At this point they are all awake. Spiros is looking down: “careful!”, the judge laughs: “I’m good. I just did not expect this rocking. We will all need to be careful”, Georgia is looking down: “oh, the countess and Dennis have already left”, Spiros explains: “yes, last night the countess was sick with her stomach. It must be motion sickness”, Louisa makes a naughty smirk: “either that or morning sickness”, they all laugh. Georgia smirks: “given her age, that explanation seems highly unlikely”. The judge and Spiros get ready and leave the cabin, then Louisa and Georgia get up too.
  * Later they meet up with their husbands in the dining room. The countess, Dennis, Maria, and Theo are there, sitting at a table near a large window. The countess and Theo look rather pale, sipping on a ginger tea and chewing on slices of raw ginger root. Louisa approaches them: “sorry to see you both feeling sick this morning”, they both groan. She turns to the countess: “how are you feeling, my friend?”, she looks at her: “as if someone had a hand around my stomach and kept squeezing on it. Louisa smiles sweetly and whispers: “welcome to the first trimester of pregnancy, my dear”, the countess laughs: “that’s impossible, but thanks for a good laugh”, then she suddenly pales. Dennis grabs her hand: “take a deep breath, love and keep looking out of the window”, she does, and she manages to regain some control. She leans with her head against the wall behind her: “gosh, the rest of the trip is going to feel very, very, long”, Theo groans: “so will mine”, Dr. Petridis approaches: “you will feel better in a day or so. Meanwhile I’d advise that you sit on the deck. Fresh air helps”. The countess gets up and murmurs weakly: “yea, I know. It was just too cold outside earlier this morning. Maybe I can try to go out now”, Dennis gets up and holds her lovingly as they make their way to the door to the deck. Maria gets up too: “let’s get you outside too, my dear”, she grabs Theo’s hand, pulls him up, and walks with him towards the deck.
  * Meanwhile, those who are well eat their breakfast. Soula, the judge, and Georgia finish quickly, go to their cabins to brush their teeth, then they go out to the deck. They sit near the countess and Theo and read a book aloud, to help distract them. Meanwhile, Louisa, Spiros, and the children continue eating. Gerry polishes up his plate then he goes to the galley to get leftover food for Papaya. Leslie is feeling queasy too and does not eat much. He gets up: “I will be sitting outside too. That should help”. Dimitra gets up too: “I think I will join him. I am not as bad as on our transatlantic trips but I do feel a bit nauseous”, Christos gets up: “Mihalis, Katherini, while your mother sits outside, let’s go to our cabin and brush our teeth”, Spiros looks at him: “thank you, my friend”, Christos smiles: “not a problem”. They leave. Spiros and Louisa remain at their table alone. She is looking out of the large window, at Leslie and their friends sitting outside in the fresh air. She turns towards Spiros and smiles sweetly: “we are lucky. It seems neither of us is seasick”, he gives her a soft kiss: “I must admit I am actually enjoying the rolling. It’s fun”, she laughs: “you really can be a big child, love”, he makes a naughty smile: “and you do like it when I _play_ with you, my love”, she makes a loving smile: “indeed…”, they exchange another kiss, longer this time. Then he makes a truly mischievous smile. She looks at him with a funny smirk: “what?”, he laughs: “what?”, she laughs: “what were you thinking a moment ago?”, he giggles: “you can truly read me like an open book, can’t you?”, she laughs: “that was very noticeable, my love. Are you going to tell me?”, he gives her another long kiss, parting her lips with his tongue: “mmmm, I was thinking all of these movements of the ship may make for a fun new experience in the bed”, then he continues kissing her, more and more sensually. She blushes and pushes back: “behave love, we are in public”, He gets up and takes her hand. He gazes into her eyes deeply. She gazes into his, then she follows him. They get to their cabin. She walks in first, grabs the do-not-disturb sign and puts it on the door. Then she approaches him: “that was not that bad an idea, my love”, he pulls her to him and gives her another long sensual kiss: I thought you may appreciate it, my beloved naughty nyfi…”.

(trnsl: nyfi = bride)

  * The next day is July 1st, 1939. For dinner Spiros and Louisa sit at a separate two-person table by a window. As they eat, they look at each other very sweetly, holding hands across the table, talking softly, exchanging many loving kisses. The others are looking at them, Dennis comments: “that looks very romantic, but uncharacteristically antisocial on their part”, Gerry smiles: “it’s the first of the month…”, Christos smiles too: “they never miss one, do they?”, the others look puzzled. Leslie laughs: “they always go on a date to celebrate their first day of love”, Florence chuckles: “that must be the day you folks arrived in Corfu in 1935 and they met for the first time”, they all laugh, then Gerry smiles: “it’s actually the first day Spiros stayed at our house, after him and Dimitra broke up, June 1st last year”, they are all silent now, looking at Dimitra embarrassed. She smiles: “don’t worry, I am fine with this. Spiros and I have had several clarifying chats on why our marriage has ended. Louisa was only part of it, and I know he was technically faithful until we broke up”, she turns towards Florence: “…even though I also know he was in love with her for a long time before that…”, she reaches for Christos’ hand, then she continues: “it was all for the better, in the end. We are both happier in our current marriages”, she smiles sweetly at Christos, then she looks at her children: “and it seems our children are happy too”, Mihalis has been following the conversation among the adults. He looks at her with very grown up expression: “yes, mama’, with your divorce we did not lose a parent. We gained two”, Dimitra hugs him: “I am very happy that’s how you feel, moro’ mou”, “den ime moro’, mama’!!”, she laughs, still hugging her boy: “to xero…”, she gives him a big kiss. He blushes…

(trnsl: my baby; I am not a baby mom!!; I know…; mama’ = mom)

  * Over the next few days most of the passengers who were initially sick, begin to feel better. One exception is poor Theo who keeps looking rather ghastly for several days. He is sitting on a bench on a deck, staring at the horizon, looking greenish pale. Maria is sitting next to him holding his hand and reading a book aloud, trying to distract him. The countess approaches him: “Theo, you should try and get some sleep. That may help”, he groans: “I can’t even think about laying down. I need to keep my head up”, she hands him a bag with a few pieces of ginger. He grabs it: “thank you, doctor Mavrodaki”, he puts a slice in his mouth and chews on it. He seems better for a while. But then he suddenly gets up and runs to the bathroom. Maria turns towards the countess: “he has always suffered from motion sickness. I was actually surprised that he had seemed fine so far. Once he was badly ill simply crossing the straight to Igoumenitsa”, the countess smiles: “hopefully his vestibular system will habituate soon. Mine has. I feel pretty fine now and I was rather ill initially. If _I_ got better, there is hope even for Theo”. In that moment Theo walks out of the bathroom, looking very, very, pale. Dr. Mavrodaki smiles at Maria: “well, maybe not for a little while”, Maria smiles too: “yea, he won’t be well soon, but he actually is a bit better today”.

  * Over the next few days Theo does get better, though rather slowly and never fully. Eventually, their ship turns eastwards. The waves are not as bad and finally Theo feels much better. At breakfast he is finally sitting with the others having a proper meal. Louisa smiles: “it’s nice to see you doing so much better, Theo”, he makes a happy smile, with a full mouth: “mmmm”, Maria laughs: “he can’t even talk, so eager to finally eat properly”, he swallows then smiles: “I was starving!”, Maria looks at him softly: “do enjoy your food, then, love”. After breakfast the captain’s voice announces through the speakers: “we have now entered the English Channel. We will reach the port of Dover tomorrow morning. It has been a pleasure to have you on board and take you to our homeland safely. I wish you all the best for the upcoming difficult political times”. The passengers all go out to the deck, excited that their voyage is getting to its end, after more than a month at sea. Spiros and Louisa are standing side by side, each with one hand around the other’s lower back and the other hand holding onto the rail. She smiles at him: “welcome to England, my love”, he smiles sweetly: “a new beginning for us all”, they exchange a loving kiss, then she points at the land in front of them: “that is Cornwall, one of the prettiest parts of England. It is not too far from Bournemouth. If we end up living there, we will be able to visit it”, he makes a smile: “on our third honeymoon…”, she laughs: “maybe…”, they kiss again. He enters her mouth with his tongue. She responds for a while, then: “behave, love…”, “mmm, it is so hard to resist you”, he puts his hand up her back, under her blouse. She stops it: “behave…”, he whispers in her ear: “fine, fine… I will need that 3rd honeymoon soon, though”, they both laugh.
  * It’s a beautiful sunny day and they spend most of it on the deck, Louisa and her children pointing out various landmarks to their friends. Leslie shouts: “that is Bournemouth!”, Gerry points in the opposite direction, towards the French coastline: “and that is the island of Jersey. One of my favorite places”, Louisa looks at him surprised: “I did not realize that. You were so young, I did not think you remembered very much”, he continues: “I remember when we visited it. And there was lots of wildlife”, Louisa ruffles his hair: “incorrigible…”, they all laugh.

  * The next morning, they all wake up very early, have their breakfast, then go back to their cabins one last time. They brush their teeth, pack their suitcases, and go out to the deck. Louisa points in front of them: “the cliffs of Dover!”, Spiros looks at them with a big smile: “the _famous_ cliffs of Dover. They truly are majestic”, he pulls Louisa close to him and whispers in her ear: “I am liking your England, my love. We will be happy here”, she makes a sweet smile: “you can’t know it so soon, we haven’t even arrived yet”, he turns and wraps her in his arms: “oh, but I do know we will be happy”, she smiles lovingly: “so do I, but that has nothing to do with where we are”, he leans towards her face: “exactly…”, he reaches for her lips. They exchange a long loving kiss. Then he whispers into her ear: “and we need to plan that 3rd I can’t wait to make more ‘fun’ memories with you, my love…”, he snuggles his face into her neck and begins giving her loving sensual kisses all along her neck, up to her earlobe. She giggles and whispers: “behave love…”
  * Meanwhile Gerry and Theo are all excited. Theo points at the sky: “a raven! A Jackdaw!”, Gerry shouts: “a peregrine falcon!”, Theo makes a big happy smile: “excellent sighting, Gerry, those are not as common!”, Gerry looks puzzled now: “and what is that? It looks like a sparrow but it’s larger. …and what is it doing…?!?”, the little bird is flying straight up, vertically. Theo laughs: “I wasn’t sure at first, but that display flight suggests it may be a skylark”, Gerry is very excited: “fantastic!!”. Louisa is smiling. She turns to Spiros: “he may be happy here too, after all”, Spiros smiles: “he will be, until school begins…”, she laughs: “yes, but he will have to attend. He understands that he needs education if he wants to pursue his interest for animals beyond simple entertainment”. Gerry has heard: “I know, mother, I know…”, She laughs: “you do have a very sharp hearing, darling”, “you’d better watch what you say, then”, then he makes a funny smirk: “not even arrived yet… already planning a 3rd honeymoon…”, Louisa blushes, Spiros laughs out loud and gives her another kiss.
  * As they approach Dover, the time to say goodbye to their friends has arrived. The Petridis, Stephanides, the judge and Georgia, and Soula are each going their way. So they all exchange addresses and phone numbers and hug each other goodbye. Florence smiles: “we will be staying in West London, near my family. They have already found a house for us”, Theo adds: “instead, we will move into Maria’s family home in London’s city center”, Maria nods: “yes, it’s part of my grandfather’s inheritance and I have only seen it once before. It’s a nice house. You are all very welcome to visit us. Always. Incidentally, may family and friends will likely use my English name here, Mary. So if you telephone, you may want to ask about Mary”, Soula adds: “instead, I will be in Lymington, with my husband’s family, until he can join me. Then we will probably look into buying our own house”, the judge explains: “for now we will be in North London, in a house we own here, but we may need to move, depending upon the court to which I will be assigned”, Georgia adds: “if we do move, we will let you know”. They are all sad to part, but also excited about the new beginning ahead. And they are all relived their long voyage is finally over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, that Louisa Durrell had two bear cubs as pets in India is an actual fact. Reported in Michael Haag's book. I thought that definitely proves where Gerald's obsession with animals came from... 😉
> 
> Gerry's liking for the island of Jersey in this story is a hint at his future. I actually don't know whether or not he had visited it before they left for Greece. What we do know is that Gerald Durrell did set up a zoo later in his life. Not in Bournemouth, though (despite trying). Rather, he founded his zoo on Jersey island. The zoo is still operating today, supported largely by the foundation set up by Gerald Durrell, mostly thanks to revenue from his popular books.


	39. Initial Settling in England

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Initial settling in London.  
Each family member's initial steps in England.  
Unsurprisingly, Spiros' priority is getting the UK driver's license...

  * Later, the ship docks at the port of Dover, the closest to London. They all disembark, collect their luggage, and line up for custom and passport control. The men have to stand on a separate line, where they are screened for possible enlisting in the British army. The women, children, and youth go through quickly and wait for their men. Louisa is standing near Gerry: “I really hope they don’t enlist Spiro. We came all the way here to be together. I’d die of worry if he was to be assigned to active duty”, the other women all nod. They have the same concern. In that moment, Dennis joins them. He goes to the countess and gives her a kiss: “not enlisted, too old. They may contact me later for desk duty in England, if needed, because I speak multiple languages”, she smiles: “I would have never thought I’d be so happy to be old”, Dennis gives her another kiss: “I’ve never said _you_ are old, my young beauty. Only that _I_ am too old to be enlisted for active duty”, she smiles sweetly: “always the gentleman”, they kiss again. Spiros joins them. Louisa is very nervous now. He hugs her: “not enlisted, my Greek birth makes me less than desirable for the British army. Maybe they think I may be a Greek spy”, she gives him a kiss: “one more reason for loving your Greekness…”, they kiss again: “they may call me for desk duty in England, especially if they need a translator for Greek or Italian documents”. Christos approaches: “not enlisted either, because I was born in Greece. They may call me for desk duty later, though”, Dimitra makes a happy smile: “I hope they will forget to do that”, they kiss.
  * Theo joins them too: “I was enlisted in the Royal Army Medical Corp”, Maria looks very sad, he hugs her and gives her a soft kiss: “we knew this was likely. They already had my name because I served in the Great War. They will assign me to various army hospitals. I will be fine, my love. I will be far from combat”, Maria is weeping in his arms. Alexia’ is crying too, standing next to her parents, Maria sobs: “I am happy you will be safe, but I will miss you”, he stretches his arm and pulls Alexia’ in his hug with Maria. He kisses them both: “and I will miss you, but I will be able to make telephone calls and to take leaves to visit my family. And for now, I am assigned to an army hospital in London, so I will not be going away any time soon”. Dr. Petridis has approached them too and has been listening: “instead, I was not enlisted. They need family doctors for the civilian population here. They say I can be assigned to West London, so we don’t have to move”, Florence makes a happy smile: “that’s good!”. Leslie approaches them: “I must report for a medical visit next week, then they will decide whether or not I will be enlisted for active duty”, Louisa makes a very worried face. Spiros hugs her lovingly. Last, the judge joins them: “not enlisted for active duty. I will be assigned to a military court that deals mostly with international cases, because of my previous experience. The court is in London city center, near the train line, so we can remain in our house in North London and I can easily commute to work”. Georgia looks very happy and gives him a tender kiss. Their teenage children look away: “ekkkk!!”, Gerry laughs: “I know… you should see those two… _always_ doing that”, he is pointing at his mother and Spiros who respond with blushed smiles and a soft kiss, Gerry chuckles: “my point, exactly”. They all laugh.
  * At that point, they all say goodbye. Florence smiles: “good luck to all. Let’s make sure we remain in contact and create opportunities to gather together!”, Georgia agrees: “for sure, especially for as long as most of us are in London”. Then they walk out of the custom building, towards their relatives and friends who have been waiting outside. Patience and Prudence are waving their arms: “we are here!!”, Louisa waves too: “hello!!”, they all greet each other then, Patience smiles: “we have hired a taxi, to help with your baggage”, Prudence adds: “and we drove here with both of our automobiles, so we should be able to fit everyone”, Spiros is impressed: “you each have a car?”, Louisa laughs: “and they both have driver licenses. I have learned from them in India”, Prudence nods: “yes, our families believed in teaching daughters as well as sons”, Spiros smiles: “so do we. Margot is as good a driver as Leslie and Larry”, Leslie makes a smirk: “really?!?”, Spiros laughs: “yes _really_, Leslie, whether you like to admit it or not”, they all laugh. Patience smiles: “you can all borrow my automobile, whenever you need”, Prudence agrees: “and mine, but you may need to take a driver’s license before you are allowed to drive here”, Spiros nods: “yes, I intend to do that”, Leslie adds: “me too”, Louisa smiles: “I already have a British driver’s license and it is still valid. I have recently renewed it at the British consulate in Corfu. So, I may actually borrow your car occasionally. Thank you so much, you are being so helpful”, Patience smiles: “happy to help and happy to have you all here, my dears”.

  * As they drive to their houses in North London, Patience talks to Louisa, sitting next to her: “Prudence and I have thought the best way to accommodate you all is that you, Spiros, the countess, Dennis, Gerry, and Leslie stay with me. Dimitra, Christos, Mihalis, and Katherini can stay with Prudence. Our houses are only 3 blocks from each other, so you will be able to see Spiros’ children quite often”, Patience turns towards Louisa: “I wasn’t sure how keen you’d be about living in the same house as Spiros’ ex-wife’s”, she makes a sweet smile: “Dimitra and I are in very good terms, really. They even lived with us in Corfu, before we left”, Patience seems surprised, Louisa continues: “it may not have come naturally at first, but we both wanted to avoid unnecessary strain on the children and I was lucky that Dimitra did not blame me for the end of their marriage. She knew it all along that they were not in love. Then over time we realized we actually do get along rather well. Now we are friends. Still, I do agree with you that we don’t need to live together, unless it is necessary for practical reasons. It’s better if we each have our own family life”. Spiros, sitting on the back seat with Dennis and the countess, is listening in but says nothing. He reaches with his hand for Louisa’s face and gently strokes her cheek. She leans into his hand and softly kisses it. She knows what that means. He agrees…
  * When they arrive, they find Patience’s mother, Sarah, waiting for them. Louisa approaches her: “it is so nice to see you again, great aunt Sarah!”, the two women hug, then Louisa turns towards Spiros: “may I introduce my husband, Spiro?”, Sarah makes a big smile: “I am so glad to finally meet you. I have heard so many good things about you from my daughter when she returned from Greece. Quite surprisingly…”, he bows and kisses her hand, very gentlemanly. Then he makes a big smile, very Spiros-like: “surprisingly? Well, I am glad to learn she wasn’t too negative about me!”, he turns towards Louisa and makes a sweet smile: “I truly care about being in good terms with my beloved wife’s family”, Sarah smiles sweetly: “that’s good to hear, that’s always a good thing, even though many happy marriages have been grounded in terrible family relations”. They all smile, good old grumpy great-aunt Sarah and her wisdom... Then the others all greet Sarah: “Gerry, my boy, you really need to do something about your hair. It’s way too long and ruffled”, Louisa smiles: “my point exactly…”, Gerry laughs: “I will, aunt Sarah, I will…”, “Leslie dear, you don’t look your usual pale self, is anything the matter?”, he laughs: “just the Corfu’s sunshine. Don’t worry, aunt, I will revert to my British paleness soon enough…”.
  * Patience’s house is quite big. Patience explains: “this house has 5 bedrooms: one for me and my mother, one for you and Spiros, one for the countess & Dennis and if Gerry and Leslie don’t mind sharing a bedroom, we also have a spare for Mihalis and Katherini when they want to stay with their dad”, Leslie smiles: “of course I don’t mind. As long as he doesn’t bring in strange animals!”, Gerry laughs. He is holding Roger’s leash and the cage with Papaya: “I won’t brother, only Roger and Papaya”, Leslie rolls his eyes: “fine, fine, but no more!”. Patience laughs: “the room is large, so there will be space for all 4 of you, humans and animals”, then she approaches the cage: “Papaya is sooo sweet!!”, Sarah echoes her: “yes, very!”, Spiros laughs: “irresistible, especially for women, apparently”, Louisa smiles: “don’t act the tough guy part, love. You are all smitten with Papaya too”, Gerry laughs: “I can confirm that. You have been spoiling her with extra treats since we left Gibraltar, Spiro!”, he produces one of his famous Spiros laughs: “touché!”.

  * They all settle in their bedrooms and unpack their suitcases. Then they gather downstairs. Patience hands several letters: “these have arrived for you”, Louisa takes them: “they are from Larry and Margot, and from your parents and brothers, love”, she hands those to Spiros, then she reaches the last letter and makes a sweet smile: “this is for you, darling, from Galini”, Gerry makes a happy smile and opens it, eager to read it. Louisa smiles sweetly: “you can go and read it in private, if you wish, Gerry. I am sorry you and your girlfriend had to be separated”, he smiles: “don’t worry, mother. We knew it was coming. We agreed to split up before we left. We are only friends, now” he has a sad smile as he says that. Louisa hugs him: “sometimes you are wiser than us, adults, Gerry”. Gerry gets up: “hope you don’t mind”, Patience smiles: “of course not!”, and he goes to his bedroom to read the letter. Meanwhile Louisa inquires: “is there a post office nearby? I’d like to send a telegram to Margot and Larry, to let them know we have arrived”, Patience replies: “yes, there is one around the corner. It’s easy to find”, Louisa gets up: “oh, I should go, then”. Spiros gets up: “I’ll go with you and telegraph my family too”. As they leave the house the others can see them through the front window, holding hands and exchanging a loving kiss as they walk. Leslie laughs: “they will scandalize this British neighborhood with their romantic ways”, Patience smiles: “not a bad thing, really. Our neighbors can be rather boring conservatives. A little shake up will do them good”. Sarah looks perplexed, but she says nothing, watching Louisa and Spiros walk away.
  * Later that evening, Patience and Sarah prepare food. Louisa and Spiros help. Sarah seems impressed: “a man who is good in the kitchen is a good man in the family”, Spiros says nothing, just smiles at her, approaches Louisa, hugs her and gives her a soft kiss, whispering in her ear: “and they say cooking is like making love…”, she blushes and whispers: “Spiro! Behave… please…”, Sarah is looking at them, with a knowing smile. Then Prudence and her guests, Christos, Dimitra, Mihalis, and Katherini arrive and they all have dinner together. During dinner, Prudence comments: “it is really nice to have you all in England. I was so worried at the thought of you all in Corfu, with that awful situation in Greece”, the countess smiles: “we truly appreciate your hospitality”, Spiros nods: “yes, we are very grateful”, Prudence smiles: “it’s luck that Patience and I live close to each other. We only learned it when we visited Corfu for your wedding”. Patience adds: “we became good friends. We have been seeing each other rather regularly since then”, Prudence nods: “yes, we have tea together at least once a week”, Spiros reaches for Louisa’s hand on the table: “I am so happy that a beautiful friendship was born out of our beautiful love”, Louisa smiles at him sweetly: “you are always so romantic! You know, the British, are not used to talking like that”, Patience makes a sweet smile: “we may not be used to it, but we can certainly value the sentiment”, Sarah nods, Prudence agrees: “of course we do. We are just bad talking about it. Maybe we all need to learn to be a bit more Greek”, Spiros laughs: “happy to help with that!”, then he turns towards Louisa and gives her a long kiss. She blushes and smiles at him sweetly: “you will embarrass all of England if you continue doing that”, he laughs: “all of it? It seems a bit ambitious. We might as well begin right now, then…” and gives her another long kiss. Katherini looks at their hosts: “don’t worry, you will get used to that. They do it a lot!”, Patience smiles sweetly: “we know that and it doesn’t bother us. Maybe we already are becoming a bit Greek”, Prudence chuckles: “and that’s a good thing!”, everybody laughs. Sarah looks unsure, but she is smiling too.

  * The next morning. Patience asks: “do you have plans for today?”, Louisa replies: “we need to go to my bank. I need to check the accounts and I want to combine my old account with the one I have inherited from aunt Hermione”, Spiros adds: “we also need to check whether our Greek accounts have been transferred”, Dennis nods: “yes, we did the paperwork just before we left Greece”, Spiros adds: “they said it’d take time, but that was more than a month ago”, the countess smiles: “I need to go too. I have transferred my Greek and French accounts”. Christos and Dimitra arrive to Patience’s house and join Louisa, Spiros, the countess, and Dennis and go to the bank together. As they walk in, the bank manager makes a big smile: “Mrs. Durrell, what a pleasure to see you in person again!”, he kisses her hand. She smiles: “it’s Mrs. Halikiopoulou, now”, he makes a funny smirk: “of course, Mrs. Hali…h…plos…”, she smiles: “Halikiopoulou, may I introduce my husband? Spiros Halikiopoulos”, the bank manager tries again: “nice to meet you, Mr. Halkidiopu…”, Spiros smiles: “Spiro will do, sir. Easier to pronounce”, he is very ‘Britishly’ embarrassed: “I do apologize, sir…”, Spiros smiles: “It doesn’t matter. I used to live in America. I am used to English speakers finding my surname difficult to pronounce”. Louisa introduces even the others, then the bank manager bows: “if you’ll excuse me now, I am to be in a meeting in about 15 minutes. My associate will arrive soon. He will be helping you today”. As he leaves. Spiros is positively impressed: “he seems very nice and welcoming”, Louisa laughs: “it’s the power of money. When I only had Lawrence’ dwindling inheritance and my small widow pension, I hardly ever saw him. I always only dealt with lesser clerks. It seems aunt Hermione’s inheritance, makes quite the difference…”.
  * In that moment the manager’s associate approaches them with a big wide smile: “welcome, Mr. and Mrs …Halikiop…pollos… and friends… follow me please”, they all go to an office at the back of the bank. The associate manager puts several sheets of paper on the table, then smiles at them all: “all of your Greek accounts have been transferred. I will need your signatures on several forms”, then he looks at the countess: “Dr. Mavrodaki, your account and investments have been transferred from Paris. Just in time, if I may say. French assets are not doing well these days, with the threat of a possible German invasion”, then he looks at Louisa: “we also need to finalize the paperwork to have your aunt’s account exclusively in your name, as per court sentence forwarded to us by the British consul of the island of Corfu, Greece”, Louisa smiles: “yes, I’d like to combine it with my other account and add my husband to it”, Spiros squirms in his chair, but does not say anything. The associate manager smiles: “of course, let me pick up the forms for that”, then he leaves the room.
  * While he is away Spiros turns to Louisa: “you mustn’t do that. That’s your family’s money. It’s for you and your children”, she looks at him with firm eyes: “you are my family too, Spiro”, he seems upset: “but I don’t want your money”, she is upset too now: “it’s not my money. It’s _our_ money. We are married, remember?”, “but…”, the countess, Dennis, Dimitra, and Christos are listening quietly. In that moment, the assistant manager returns with the forms. Louisa smiles: “would you mind doing their paperwork first, while my husband and I have a little chat in private?”, “of course, Mrs. Halliop..p..pulu, take your time”, she makes a polite smile, takes Spiros’ hand, and walks outside.
  * They sit outside, on a bench near the bank’s door. She is looking very serious now. The same expression she makes when she scolds her children: “what is this all about, Spiro?”, he looks at her with a firm gaze: “I just don’t want to take your money. I can make my own”, “of course you can. That does not change the fact that, as my husband, you own everything I own. And as our wife, I own everything you own”, “I know, but…”, she is angry now: “but what?”, he hesitates: “I can’t match that. I don’t have much and most of what I have needs to go to raise my children”, “of course, I know that, Spiro. I have spent whatever little I had for my children. That’s normal, I understand it very well”, “but now you have lots of money…”, “_we_ have lots of money”, “but it’s your aunt’s…”, she interrupts him, angry: “you know what this is? Male pride! You can’t accept that this money is from my side of our family, because you are the man and I am _only_ the woman!”, he bows his head: “you know that’s not how I think, Louisa…”, she continues, with sad voice now: “I thought you were different, Spiro. I thought you accepted me as equal to you, as an independent woman who has raised a family on her own”, he looks up: “but I do! I admire you for that. You know it!”, “then why don’t you want to accept that money I happen to have inherited belongs to both of us?”, he is quiet now. She continues: “if it was you who had inherited, would you share it with me?”, “of course I would!”, her voice is softer now: “then how is this different?”, he looks up at her with sad eyes: “you are right, Louisa. I am being a stupid proud man…”, she smiles sweetly: “not stupid, just proud”, he smiles at her: “I am sorry, love…”, they kiss and look into each other’s eyes lovingly: “I love you, Louisa”, “I love you, Spiro”, then they exchange a long kiss, sitting on the bench by the bank’s large window. The bank clerks, the manager, and various clients can see that unusual very public display of affection and look surprised.
  * Louisa and Spiros walk back inside, hand in hand. She smiles at the people who are staring at them: “hello”, then they return to the associate manager’s office. Louisa smiles: “we are back, ready to sign the paperwork”, Spiros agrees: “but we need more. We need to add my wife to my account that was just transferred from Greece”, the associate manager nods: “of course”. Louisa smirks at Spiros: “then we might as well combine them all into one”. The associate manager smiles: “of course, not a problem”. He fetches the forms, and sits back at his desk: “here they are, you both need to sign at the bottom of each of these”, then he takes a copy of each form, neatly stacks them in a folder, and hands it to them: “Mr. and Mrs. Hallio..p..ppulos, Dr. Mavrodaki, may I advise that you make an appointment with our expert to go over your investment portfolios? There are various ways we can shelter them in case of war”, Louisa smiles: “sure why not, we will do it before we leave”.

  * That evening, Spiros, Louisa, and the countess are sitting in the living room. Gerry returns home with a big smile: “I have found a job!”, the countess smiles: “excellent, where?”, “at a nearby pet shop!”, Louisa laughs: “of course, where else?!”, he laughs too: “and they said I can get one of their large cages now and pay for it later, with my first wage. Louisa looks at him with stern eye: “a large cage? What for? You know that you are not allowed to bring home animals until we have our own place!”, “yes, mother, I know that. The cage is for Papaya. When I am not at home I am to leave her in her cage and the one we got for the trip is really too small. She hardly has room to move”, Louisa smiles: “you are correct, darling. Poor Papaya definitely needs a larger cage. I am happy to help pay for it”, Spiros laughs: “you have such a soft spot for Papaya! I really should be jealous, shouldn’t I?”, she smiles at him sweetly: “maybe…”, he smirks: “so you admit it, eh?’ she approaches him and wraps her arms around his waist: “guilty as charged!”, then she gives him a long kiss. Gerry smiles. Spiros turns towards him: “let’s go then!”, “where?”, “to the pet shop, to purchase that large cage. I can help you bring it back”, “thank you Spiro!”. Spiros and Gerry go to the shop and return later with a large box.
  * Patience sees them: “what is that?”, Gerry replies with a big happy smile: “a new larger cage for Papaya. Do you have tools, aunt Patience? We need to assemble it”, “yes, let me show you”, she walks to a small storage room. Spiros follows her. She points at a shelf: “up there. Hopefully there’s what you need”, Spiros takes two large boxes down and looks inside: “exactly what we need, thank you!”, Patience smiles. Louisa speaks with stern voice: “do the assembly in the garden, though, you’ll make a mess in the house!”, Spiros smiles: “of course love, that was our intention all along”. Gerry and Spiros go outside and begin assembling the cage. Patience turns to Louisa: “it’s nice to see Spiro getting along with your children so well. She smiles: “yes, he is being the paternal figure they lost so many years ago. They are all attached to him”, “that’s beautiful. I am so happy for you, Louisa. You seem to have found a very nice man”, she makes a sweet smile: “I have!”, then she goes outside and watches her husband and son as they happily work together. Spiros makes a sweet smile: “you are staring, love”, she laughs: “just admiring your smashing beauty”, he laughs too: “hey, it’s usually me who makes those kind of compliments”, she approaches him: “and I blush when you do that…”, he laughs: “if you look at me carefully, you will see a red tinge”, she laughs: “not at all! You are way too smug to blush at a compliment like that!”, he laughs: “me, smug?!?!”, “indeed!”, he makes a funny/silly face: “I am not smug, I am just very aware of my smashing beauty”, she laughs hard now. He approaches her, grabs her waist, and pulls her to him. She wraps her arms around his neck and smiles sweetly: “hello handsome”, he hugs her, pulls her closer to his body, and looks at her lovingly: “hello my beauty”, they kiss. A long loving kiss. Patience is standing at the house’s door, smiling sweetly. Gerry looks at her with a happy smile and nods eloquently: “yes, always like that. Leslie calls them molasses… and for good reason!”.
  * Later that evening, they are having dinner, chatting amicably. Spiros comments: “Patience, Sarah, I have noticed a few spots in your house that may use some repair work. I’d be happy to do that, if you wish”, Patience replies: “oh, thank you for offering Spiro, but I wouldn’t want to impose…”, “not at all, I do like to do repair jobs”, Louisa smiles: “he is very good at it. He did all sorts of handyman jobs around the house in Corfu”, Patience smiles: “then I am not going to refuse your nice offer, Spiro…”, he makes a big happy smile: “excellent!”. After dinner, he grabs the tools from the storage room, goes outside, sets up a ladder, climbs up, and begins soldering the gutters and replacing missing supporting nails. Patience goes outside too: “thank you so much Spiro, those have been leaking for months!”, he makes a tight smile, his mouth full of nails. Patience warns: “don’t talk, please, Louisa would never forgive me if I caused you to swallow one of those!”. He chuckles…

  * At bed time, they all retire to their bedrooms. Spiros sneaks downstairs and returns to their bedroom with a funny smile. Louisa is sitting on the bed, combing her hair. She has already changed into her pajamas and she is getting ready to go to bed. She looks at him, perplexed: “what are you up to, love?”, he has a small bottle and a cloth in his hand. He puts them on the chest of drawers: “I’d need your help”, “sure, what for?”, he makes a naughty smile: “to lift the mattress so that I can oil the link springs of our bed”, she giggles: “happy to help…”. Once they are done, Spiros tiptoes to the bedroom next to theirs. He knocks on the door. Dennis opens it. Spiros explains then winks: “only so that you can sleep better, without the squeaky noise”, Dennis winks too: “such a great idea, give me a moment”. He closes the door. Spiros can hear voices talking, then Dennis opens the door wide: “come in!”. The countess is sitting at the writing desk, wearing a long silk robe. Spiros and Dennis lift the mattress in their bed and oil the link springs. As Spiros is leaving the room, the countess turns towards him and smiles: “thank you”, Spiros makes a naughty smile: “not a problem. Happy to help fellow lovers…”, Dennis winks: “sleep better…”, Spiros chuckles: “of course! What else?”.
  * That night, Louisa is woken up by roaming hands. Spiros is caressing her body, his hands under her pajamas. She turns to face him, giggling quietly: “I knew you had this in mind when we oiled the link springs”, he giggles too: “of course, now that we are finally alone in our own bedroom…”, he is gently caressing her breasts now. She moans and reaches down inside his pajama: “mmm, this boy is more than ready for action”, he has his hand in her knickers now, his fingers stroking her gently: “so is this girl…”, they both giggle and moan. They continue touching one other, until they make love, quietly… 

  * The next day, Louisa and Spiros walk to Prudence’s house. Katherini is playing in the front garden. She sees them and runs towards them: “bampaka, Louisa, I am happy you are here! There is a _fantastic_ park nearby. I want to show it to you!!”, Louisa smiles sweetly: “if it is that _fantastic_, we might have to take a look”, “yesss!!!”, she grabs Louisa’s hand: “let’s go, I know where it is, I can show you the way!!”, she laughs: “wait a moment, Katherini. I wanted to say hi to your mom, Christos, Mihalis, and Prudence, first”. Prudence is standing at the door smiling: “we went to the little playground around the corner yesterday and they both had lots of fun”, Katherini agrees: “especially the swings. These are soooo fast! Much faster than the swings in Corfu”, Spiros laughs: “of course, those are made with a rope and an old tire. I am sure these are nicer”, “you will have to go and see them, bampa’, so that when we go back to Corfu you can make one just like these”, he laughs: “of course, koukla, I will do that for you”. Dimitra and Christos have joined them. She chuckles: “it looks like the playground will be your next stop, Spiro”, he smiles: “let’s fetch Mihalis and go, then”, Prudence smiles: “why don’t we all go? I thought we’d make tea and chat for a bit, but we can do that on the benches of the playground instead”, Christos smiles: “and instead of tea, we can have ice cream, from the shop near the playground”, Katherini has heard that: “ice cream, yessss!!!”, the adults all smile.
  * At the playground, Katherini and Mihalis are running around, from slide, to swing, to monkey bars, to merry-go-round… playing with other children. Louisa asks: “was there anything specific you wanted to chat about, Prudence?”, “yes, actually. Before you came I have inquired about schools for the children”, Spiros smiles: “thank you for doing that, Prudence, I really appreciate it!”, Dimitra agrees: “yes, thank you so much!”, Prudence smiles: “of course!”, then she continues: “the headmaster of the local elementary school says both children can attend any elementary school in the UK and she recommends that their entry level be assessed before they are assigned to a class”, Dimitra explains: “Katherini was going to be in grade 1 in the Greek schools this Autumn, so I’d assume that will be an easy decision even for the English system”, Prudence nods: “yes, that is what the headmaster told me when I told her Katherini’s age. For Mihalis, instead, she thinks he should do the assessment, to make sure he is assigned to the proper level”, the proud dad Spiros comments: “he is a strong student, I am sure he will be fine”, Dimitra nods: “yes, but he still should be put in a level that is appropriate for him”.
  * Prudence smiles: “the headmaster also inquired about their proficiency in English. She was more worried about that than their actual scholastic level. She was happy when I told her they are both very fluent”, Spiros nods: “yes, they were born in America and when we returned to Greece we intentionally continued to speak English at home”, Dimitra smiles: “and ever since Spiros has moved in with Louisa, the children have been speaking English with a stronger and stronger British accent, at least so they sound to my untrained ear”, Prudence smiles: “they sound British even to my ear. If I didn’t know it, I couldn’t tell they did not grow up here. The headmaster recommended that they attend Summer school, to make sure they picked up the language, but that may not be necessary in their case”, Spiros smiles: “I think it’s still a good idea that they go to Summer school. It will help them socialize with English children and Mihalis can catch up on any subjects he may have learned differently in Greece”, Dimitra agrees: “especially geography and history. In Greek schools those are very focused on Greece”, Prudence nods: “and here on the UK. You are right, those are subjects he may need to learn before the beginning of the school year in September”.
  * Louisa chuckles: “if it’s socialization you are worried about, you can put your mind at ease”, she is looking towards the playground where Katherini is busily chatting up the children as well as their mothers: “we arrived from Corfu with a huuuge ship after a looong trip. Everybody was seasick, but I wasn’t. My daddy is the best taxi driver in the world!”, Spiros laughs and whispers: “that is so sweet!”, Louisa laughs: “it will do wonders to your smugness, love”, Dimitra chuckles: ‘indeed!”, the two women exchange a complicit gaze. Prudence notices that and smiles. Spiros sees that and laughs: “it feels like you two are conspiring behind my back!”, Louisa laughs: “not conspiring, love, just agreeing”. Prudence chuckles, then she continues: “I have made an appointment to meet with the headmaster of the elementary school tomorrow morning at 10, if it works for you”, Spiros smiles: “of course, thank you so much for thinking about our children, Prudence”, “I am happy to help! You should come by at a quarter to ten tomorrow morning so that I can walk you there. It is not far”.
  * Prudence turns towards Louisa: “I also went to the local high school and inquired about Gerry. When I told her he has been home schooled for years, the headmaster seemed concerned. He thinks Gerry needs to take several tests, to assess his level in various subjects”, Louisa nods: “yes, that makes sense. He will need to take those whether we remain in London or move to Bournemouth”, Prudence asks: “so you are thinking of going back there?”, Louisa nods: “yes, we all like the idea of living in a city smaller than London. It is not a final decision yet, though. We intend to take train trips to Bournemouth, to check out the housing and job situation before deciding”

  * The next day, Louisa, the countess, and Dennis go to the train station and write down the schedule of the trains to Bournemouth. The countess comments: “you were right Louisa, it seems a well-connected line, with a few trains each day”, Louisa nods: “yes, if we leave early in the morning, we can spend a few hours in Bournemouth, and return to London on the same day. Dennis smiles: “should we buy tickets now?”, the countess looks at him sweetly: “we should check with the others when they want to go, first”, Louisa nods: “and who is going. We don’t all need to go each time”. As they are leaving the train station they see a nice-looking tea-house. The countess smiles: “that looks, lovely, why don’t we sit down for tea?”, Louisa smiles: “sure, why not? Just let me ring Patience, first, so that she doesn’t wait for us at home. She walks to a red telephone kiosk and dials Patience’s number. Then they sit at the tea house and enjoy chatting for a while. The countess looks relaxed: “this is all being very nice, Louisa. I am happy you and Spiro have convinced me to go with you”, Dennis reaches for her hand and looks at her very sweetly: “I am happy too”.
  * When they return home, they find Spiros sitting on the sofa, intently reading a booklet. Louisa approaches him and gives him a kiss: “hello love, what is that?”, he shows her the cover ‘the official driver’s handbook’: “I went to the license office while you were out and got two of these, one for me and one for Leslie. I thought I may be able to resume my taxi driver job. I know I can’t do it until I learn the roads. I can find some other job in the meanwhile, but I’d like to go back to my job, eventually and I need to get the British driving license first. There are a written and a driving test”, “yes, that’s what I had to do when I took mine. It was not difficult”, he smiles: “it seems easy and not too different from the tests I took in Illinois. I just need to read this to make sure I know the British rules for the written test. Then I can book a date for the driving test”, Patience is sitting in an armchair, knitting and listening to classical music on the radio: “you can count on borrowing my car for the driving test, Spiro”, “thank you very much Patience”. Louisa walks upstairs to their bedroom. Spiros continues reading. After a while, he raises his head: “is a traffic signal the same as a traffic light in English?”, Patience replies: “yes, it’s a synonym”, he smiles sweetly: “thanks Patience, there always are new words for me to learn”, she smiles: “feel free to ask, any time, I can only try to imagine the challenge of taking a test in a second language”.

  * The next day, Spiros and Louisa leave the house early and go to the employment office. Spiros is looking at the postings: “there is a fairly long list of possible jobs”, she is holding his hand: “that’s good, love. Just, please, don’t take a job with long hours”, he turns towards her and gives her a soft kiss: “and be away from you, my love?”, she returns his kiss: “that’s exactly my point. I’d miss you very much. I am happy when we are together all day long”, he wraps his arms around her: “so am I, but I do need to work”, she makes a sweet smile: “I know, just not too long, please”, they exchange a long kiss, then they turn to the posted jobs, Louisa points at one: “here you go, part time preschool teacher in North London, not far from Patience’s house. You’d be perfect for it. You are so good with children!”, he smiles: “I never thought of that, but you are right, I think I’d enjoy it!”, then he makes a sad face, Louisa notices it: “what?”, he smiles sweetly: “they won’t want someone with an accent in English. And they won’t want a man as a preschool teacher”, she makes a sweet smile: “not all employers are that biased. I think it’s worth applying”, he still looks sad. She gives him a kiss: “what?”, he makes a sweet smile: “it’s only part time. The money may not be enough. Mihalis’ and Katherini’s summer schools are not cheap”.
  * She thinks for a bit: “this is quite the conundrum, we don’t want to be separated for too long and we need to make enough money for the children”, he is still looking sad: “my children… yours can both work and make their own money”, she looks sad too now: “that was not nice, love. You know that I care about your children. Don’t keep me out of their lives, please”, he hugs her: “of course not. That’s not what I meant at all!”, she makes a sweet smile: “I have an idea. They are looking for 5 teachers at the preschool. Why don’t we both apply? If we both get the job, we’d be together and with two part time jobs we will make enough money for our expenses”, he looks uncertain: “…but you don’t need to work, you have enough money and I…”, she answers with very stern voice: “you are doing it again, dear husband… if I have enough money that I don’t need to work, then so do you…”, he smiles: “I can accept sharing your inheritance, but don’t ask me to use it to support my children and not even work!”, she makes a sweet smile: “I do understand why you want to work. I am not asking that you don’t. Then let me apply with you, so that we can be together. The money we will make will go to our shared account which will be used for all children and household expenses. _Our_ account, remember?”, he smiles sweetly: “I remember, and I remember I am not to argue this one, my love”, she smiles too: “you’d better not…”, then she writes the address and phone number of the preschool in her notebook and makes a phone call in the telephone kiosk that is in a corner of the employment office: “we have an interview in one hour. Plenty of time to get there”.

  * They are sitting in the headmaster’s office: “Mr. and Mrs. Hallopoulos?”, Louisa smiles: “Halikiopoulos”, the headmaster repeats it a few times: “Halilik…, Halikiopoulos… Halikiopoulos…?”, Spiros smiles: “excellent, madam!”, she smirks: “years of ancient Greek studies finally put to good use…”, they all smile: “Mr. and Mrs. Halikiopoulos, for this job we require high school education”, Spiros replies: “we both have it. Mine is from Greece”, Louisa adds: “and mine form a British school in India”, the headmaster smiles: “and we require experience with children”, Spiros smiles: “well, we do have 6 children, of different ages. Three are grown up, one is in high school, and two are still quite young, 6 and 9”, Louisa nods: “and we both contribute to their upbringing. Spiro is very involved. A wonderful father”, the headmaster smiles: “I like that. In those few families where fathers are involved the children are clearly very happy”, Spiros smiles: “I am very convinced of that. Mothers and fathers can bring different perspectives and life approaches, thus enhancing the children’s overall development and well-being”, Louisa nods.
  * The headmaster makes a tight smile and sits back: “honestly, I am not sure about your application, Mr. Halikiopoulos. Preschool teachers are usually women… and…”, she seems embarrassed, Spiros helps, with soft voice: “and have no foreign accent in English…”, she smiles: “I am so sorry, Mr. Halikiopoulos. Yes, that’s what I was going to say, but it felt wrong the very moment I formulated the thought in my mind. Your English is clearly very fluent and the children won’t care that you have an accent. It’s us, the grown-ups, who notice that kind of things”, she thinks for a while: “and frankly I hate myself for bringing up your gender as an issue too. There is no reason for a man shouldn’t be a preschool teacher, just as there is no reason for a woman should not be a doctor, a lawyer, a politician, a scientist…”, Louisa smiles: “…a school headmaster…”, Spiros makes one of his big happy smiles: “or the queen! Your country has quite the history of women being excellent heads of state”, they all laugh.
  * The headmaster sits back and smiles: “you can both have the job, if you are still interested”, Louisa smiles: “that’s very good! Would it be possible for us to have the same shift?”, Spiros looks at Louisa and smiles sweetly: “we make a good team. We work well together”, he reaches for her hand in her lap: “and happily…”, the headmaster makes a sweet smile: “I don’t see why not. We do need two teachers for the morning shift, 3 days a week, if that works for you”, Louisa and Spiros smile and answer at the same time: “it does!”, then they look into each other’s eyes sweetly and laugh. The headmaster smiles: “a well-tuned team. I can see that. I only ask that you refrain from such displays of affection in front of the children”, she is looking at their hands, still joined together on Louisa’s lap. They both blush. Spiros removes his hand: “sorry…”, “you don’t need to apologize. There is nothing wrong with husband and wife holding hands, it’s just that we do not wish our children to be exposed to that when they are so young”. Spiros and Louisa look at each other. They disagree, but they nod, Spiros smiles graciously: “of course!”.
  * That evening they tell their friends and family. The countess smiles: “I think that’s wonderful. A fun and stimulating job and I am sure you two will be great at it”, Louisa smirks: “and with 6 children we sure have the experience”, Gerry laughs: “and quite the children!”, Leslie laughs too: “a porn writer, a gun maniac, a feminist, and a fanatic for disgusting animals”, Gerry makes a frown: “disgusting?!?!”, Louisa laughs: “good thing that Mihalis and Katherini seem to be less…”, Spiros helps: “…peculiar?”, they all laugh, Sarah asks: “when are you beginning with your job?”, Spiros replies: “in a few days, next Monday”.

  * On Monday, in the morning Louisa and Spiros work at the school. In the afternoon Leslie returns home after his medical visit. He walks in quietly and sits on a sofa, sulking. Louisa approaches him: “what’s wrong, darling? You look upset. How did your visit go?”, he sighs: “they didn’t take me. They say I have a heart murmur”, she smiles: “I know…”, he looks at her: “you knew it and you did not tell me?!?”, “you were born with it. The doctors said you’d be fine as long as you did not practice strenuous sports. Since you never seemed interested in that type of sports I did not think of telling you. Sorry darling…”, “well, I know now that the army won’t have me because of it!”, he sounds rather upset. Louisa can’t help but feeling very relieved at the thought that her child will not be sent for active duty: “will they assign you to desk duty instead?”, “they said I can work for a RAF factory, if I wish. There is one near Bournemouth so that may be an option if we move there”, “oh that sounds like a very good option, darling!”, she hugs her son. He still looks sulking. She walks away, letting him steam off his upset.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, there are a couple of references to the TV series in this chapter. I am sure most of you have noticed them.  
(1) that cooking is like making love and (2) the peculiar children.  
Just giving credit where credit is due...
> 
> A few historical notes. 
> 
> I don't know why Leslie Durrell was not enlisted in the British Army (nor why Gerald wasn't either, a few years later). All I found is that it was for medical reasons (for both of them). Since Leslie died fairly young of a heart attack I thought I'd give him a congenital heart condition in this story.
> 
> UPDATE (April 2020). Upon re-reading Michael Haag's book I later discovered that the reason for Leslie was not enlisted was a ruptured eardrum, from an old school fight. So not a heart condition. Oh well.. As for Gerald, he was not enlisted because of heavy catarrh in his airways.
> 
> Upon arrival in England, the family did stay a few months in London before moving to Bournemouth in Sept 1939. I couldn't find the exact dates, but the general timeline in this story is an attempt to be accurate to the historical facts.
> 
> One thing that I have made up is that in London they stayed with family. I haven't found that info anywhere.
> 
> Gerry did work in a pet shop and attended high school, at least for a period.
> 
> Leslie did work for the RAF factory after they moved to Bournemouth, throughout the war years.
> 
> As far as I know Louisa Durrell has never worked. She lived off her husband's inheritance and pension. So I made that up here. In a way that I hope is in character
> 
> Spiros Halikiopoulos is described as a jovial man who loved children, so even thought his presence in England and his romance with Louisa Durrell did not happen, the job I have him find in this story is an attempt to remain true to what we know of the man he was.
> 
> See this quote by Lawrence (Larry) Durrell in his book Prospero's Cell (sectioned titled 6.1.38): "Prodigious drinker of beer, he resembles a cask with legs; coiner of oaths and roaring blasphemies, he adores little children and never rides out in his battered Dodge without two at least sitting beside him listening to his stories".   
Prospero's Cell can be downloaded for free here, as a txt file https://www.pdfdrive.com/prosperos-cell-e195548011.html
> 
> Incidentally, "a cask with legs" is not exactly the description of Alexis Georgoulis (the actor who plays Spiros in the TV series). 😂😂


	40. The Durrells/Halikiopoulos in London, Part I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A bit of light fluff today. I had fun imagining a few Durrell/Halikipoulos moments as they live in London.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, I apologize to the Hindi speakers. I just used google translate and I know how inaccurate that can be....

  * The next day, is a day off work for Louisa and Spiros, so Louisa, Dimitra, and the countess walk to the nearby King’s Cross station and take a train to Waterloo station where they catch the train to Bournemouth. When they arrive, Dorothy Brown is waiting for them: “welcome to Bournemouth! It is so nice to see you all again! I am so happy you are considering moving back here with Spiros and your friends, Louisa!”, they walk to a nearby real estate agency, Dorothy makes the introductions: “this is my friend James, I think you have met before”, she smiles: “yes, James helped me buy and sell my previous two houses in Bournemouth”, James shakes her hand: “I remember you, Mrs. Durrell, it is a pleasure to see you back in Bournemouth. Please come in”, Dorothy leaves: “I have some errands to do now. I will see you all later”, they walk into James’ office. He looks at the 3 women: “please sit down, ladies. Mrs. Durrell, why don’t we begin with you?”, “it’s Mrs. Halikiopoulou now, actually”, he makes a big smile: “I am so happy to learn that! A result of your sojourn in Greece, I gather”, she smiles: “yes, I’ve met my husband on Corfu”, “how wonderful. So, what are you looking for, Mrs. Hallikkioppoulou?”, she corrects him gently: “Halikiopoulou”, he smiles: “sorry…”, and repeats: “Halikiopoulou…?”, she makes a big smile: “one of the best pronunciations I’ve heard so far”, he laughs: “I am glad to hear that. I love Greece. My family and I have been there on holiday several times. I have even learned a few words of Greek, kyria Halikiopoulou. Now I only hope things improve on the continent and we can go back soon”, Louisa smiles: “I can’t wait for that day…”, she looks sad now.

(trnsl: kyria = Mrs., madam)

  * James sees that and changes topic: “so what are you and your friends looking for?”, Louisa explains: “my husband and I would like to buy a 5-bedroom house, for the two of us and our 6 children”, James smiles: “so you have 6 children…”, “yes, but two are currently out of the country and two only stay with us a few days a week”, James is taking notes. The countess adds: “my partner and I, instead, would like to buy a 2- or 3-bedroom house. It’s just the two of us. Ideally, it’d be next to Louisa and Spiros”, James smiles: “so the lucky Greek gentleman’s name is Spiros Halikiopoulos…”, Louisa smiles sweetly: “it is…”, then James turns towards Dimitra: “and what are you looking for, madam?”, “my husband and I are looking to rent a 3-bedroom house or flat, for us and my two children. Ideally, it’d be close enough to Louisa and Spiros that we can walk there, especially the children who will be staying a few days with us and a few days with them”, Louisa adds: “and there should be an elementary school at walking distance from both places”, James looks up, looking confused. Dimitra explains with a smile: “our children spend equal time with my ex-husband Spiros and me”, James is blushed now: “oh, I did not realize that Mr. Halikiopoulos…”, Dimitra chuckles: “the lucky Greek…”, James is quite embarrassed now: “I am sorry, I hope what I said was not inappropriate…”, Dimitra looks at Louisa and laughs: “not at all, he indeed is one lucky fellow, when it comes to wives”, Louisa laughs too.
  * James leans back in his chair: “well, there are a few houses I can show to you today, but they are not all close to each other, even though at least two of them are at walking distance from one another”, Louisa smiles: “well, we can sure take a look”, James nods: “and if you can return to Bournemouth later, I will keep an eye out for a combination that works for you. I can ring you when something suitable comes on the market”, the countess smiles: “excellent”, James gets up: “let’s go, then. We can drive with my automobile”. They visit a few houses, then they return to the real estate agency. Dorothy is waiting for them: “perfect, just in time for tea”, they take the bus and go to her parents. Louisa is smiling: “you still live in the same house as before, in Spur Hill avenue, in our old neighborhood!”, Dorothy smiles: “I actually live up the road now, with my boyfriend. My mother still lives here, though, and she can’t wait to see you!”, they all go to Louisa’s old friend and spend a nice couple of hours, having tea and catching up on their lives, Mrs. Brown serves tea: “Louisa, I am curious to learn all about your life since 1935, when you left for Greece with your children”.

  * When they get home Spiros and Gerry have made supper for everyone. Spiros announces proudly: “British food tonight, meat pies with roasted potatoes”, Gerry laughs: “not completely British, I have seasoned the potatoes with oregano and garlic”, Spiros laughs too: “and I have made a green salad too”, Louisa smiles at him sweetly: “that’s good and healthy love”, Gerry laughs: “and very Mediterranean. A meal without fresh vegetables is unthinkable there”, Louisa nods: “it’s thanks to the wonderful weather. Fresh vegetable season is much longer than here”, she makes a sad smile. Spiros sees that, walks up to her, hugs her, and gives her a loving kiss: “we will return there as soon as possible, my love”, she smiles at him sweetly: “I know… hopefully soon…”.
  * As they are all sitting around the table having their dinner, the countess comments: “this is all delicious”, Patience agrees: “it is, I am loving the Mediterranean touch in your cooking”, Sarah nods, then adds grumpily: “not truly British but pretty tasty, I must admit”, Louisa looks at Spiros and smirks: “I guess we are lucky Brits as much as you are a lucky Greek….”, the countess laughs, Spiros looks puzzled. Louisa smiles: “that’s what our real estate agent, James, said today when I told him I am Mrs. Halikiopoulou now”, he smirks too: “a lucky Greek eh?”, she smiles sweetly: “a lucky Greek gentleman, were his exact words”, he makes a silly face now: “I can’t let you go anywhere on your own and men immediately make compliments to you”, she laughs: “he was just being nice. Not what you think, love. James has a family. He says they used to like to go to Greece on holidays”, “oh that’s where he must have learned to flirt with beautiful women…”, She laughs: “flirt?”, the countess laughs: “indeed!”, Spiros laughs too: “obviously! How can you not see it as such?”, she smiles sweetly: “maybe it’s because I only have eyes for you…”, she reaches for his lips and gives him a soft kiss. He smiles looking at her lovingly: “then I truly am one lucky Greek…”, they kiss again. Leslie smirks: “the usual molasses…”, they all smile sweetly. Sarah makes a grumpy face but her eyes are very soft...

  * The next day, evening. Spiros and Louisa are making supper for everyone. Gerry is in the back garden, playing with Roger and Papaya. Patience, Sarah, the countess, and Dennis are in the living room, listening to music on the wireless. Leslie bursts in: “I have great news!”, then he blushes: “so sorry, I thought mother and Spiro would be here…”, Patience smiles: “today they are making dinner. Greek food, apparently”, Leslie makes a big happy smile: “excellent, when the two of them cook together the results are always wonderful”, then he walks towards the kitchen. Louisa and Spiros are standing at the counter, giving their back to the kitchen’s door. She is mixing ground meat with herbs and chopped onion for bifteki. He is preparing a moussaka. They are standing next to each other. They briefly stop their food preparation to exchange a soft kiss. They don’t even talk. They just do it, in perfect synchrony. Then they smile sweetly, looking at each other lovingly. Leslie speaks with low, yet excited, voice, to avoid startling them: “sorry to interrupt lovebirds, but I have news!”. Louisa and Spiros smile: “what is it, darling?”, “I have found a job!”, Spiros replies: “congratulations!”, Louisa adds: “that’s wonderful, darling. What job?”, “as a hotel’s porter. It’s not too exciting but it pays well”, Spiros smiles: “oh, I disagree. I think it can be a fun job. You will meet interesting people, maybe even famous people”, Louisa smiles: “yes, all you need to do is: chat them up the way Spiro does with his taxi clients”, he nudges her: “very, very, funny, my dear witty wife…”, she makes a sweet smile: “funny maybe, but true…”, they smile, lean towards each other and kiss.
  * Later, they are all having supper. Gerry looks at his mother and Spiros: “mmm, this is all sooo good, thank you for making Greek food. I was missing it!”, Sarah agrees: “this is delicious, what’s the name again?”, Spiros smiles: “bifteki, it’s essentially a Greek version of hamburger”, Sarah looks at Spiros: “so it’s just ground meat. How did you make it taste so delicious?”, he chuckles: “you should ask Louisa. She made it”, she looks at Spiros smiling sweetly: “you should ask Spiro, I have learned from him”, they look at each other lovingly and laugh, Sarah smiles grumpily: “that was very sweet, but I still don’t have an answer to my question”, they all laugh, then Louisa replies: “I’d be happy to write down the recipe for you, great-aunt. The secret lays in the ingredients you mix into the meat…”, the countess comments: “the bifteki is very good indeed, and this is one of the best moussakas I have ever had!”, Dennis nods: “I completely agree. It’s excellent!”, Spiros smiles: “it’s a Halikiopoulos family recipe. I am happy to share it, if you wish”, Patience smiles: “that would be lovely, thank you!”, then she turns towards Leslie: “what were you so excited about earlier, Leslie?”, he tells her about his new job, Patience is happy for him: “excellent news! That is a very upscale hotel. The tips will be very good”.

  * A few days later, the 3 women return to Bournemouth. In the morning they go to the employment office. They are going through all job postings. Louisa comments: “two pet shops are looking for help. Gerry will be happy!”, Dimitra adds: “and some of these jobs may be suitable for the rest of us”, Louisa smiles: “yes, it seems there are various options in Bournemouth”, the countess adds: “I’d advise you write down a few, so that Spiros and Christos can see examples of these options”, Louisa agrees: “good idea”, she takes out a small notepad and a pencil and writes down a list of job offers that may suit their men. After the employment office, they go to a small park where they relax on a bench and eat the food they have brought along. The countess comments: “this pita is really good, thanks for making it Dimitra”, she smiles: “thank you. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find feta cheese”, Louisa looks curious: “so what kind of cheese did you use? This is really good!”, “I have used cottage cheese. I am glad you like it. It does have a nice taste, I just find it a bit blander than feta”, Louisa smiles: “well, I really like this. Maybe you can teach me how to make it at some point?”, “of course, I’d be happy to”.
  * After their picnic lunch, they go to the real estate agency. James takes them to see a few houses, then they go back to his office to discuss their impressions. Louisa begins: “the houses on St Albans Avenue seem such a great option!”, the countess agrees: “yes, I really like that they are next to each other and they seem to fit our needs perfectly!”, Louisa smiles: “and the neighborhood is lovely”, James adds: “and there is a very good elementary school”, then he looks at Dimitra: “I am sorry I still haven’t found a good rental option nearby, though. I am confident there will be some soon. There are several rental units in that neighborhood and many of them would be perfect for you!”, Louisa looks at Dimitra: “you and Christos could live with us until a rental becomes available”, Dimitra smiles: “thank you, yes, we can do that while waiting for a suitable accommodation. If those houses work for you and the school is good, then we should stay in that neighborhood”, James smiles: “if you are interested in those two houses, we should plan for a second viewing, then possibly make offers”. Louisa smiles: “we should return with our men, give them a chance to give their opinion before we decide. What do you think, ladies?”, the women laugh, the countess replies: “yes, fair enough”, Dimitra smiles: “indeed, and the children…”, James concludes: “very good, just let me know when you can return to Bournemouth and I will arrange the viewing”.
  * When they arrive at King’s Cross station in London it is already late in the evening. Spiros is waiting for them on the platform: “welcome back, traveling ladies”, he gives Louisa a loving kiss, “let’s all walk home. Patience and I have made dinner”. During dinner Spiros looks at Louisa: “how did it go today, my love?”, she smiles: “we may have found two houses that work very well!”, “oh that sounds good!”, Louisa nods: “yes and it seems Bournemouth has several good job opportunities”, she hands him the list she has written down: “yes, they seem good options”, he hands it to Gerry: “two pet shops looking for help”, Gerry is happy: “yea, fantastic!”, Louisa smiles: “if you like the idea, then we should all go to Bournemouth together to view the houses again and decide whether or not we want to make an offer”, Patience smiles: “oh, I’d love to go too. I’d be curious to see the houses”, the countess smiles: “of course! I’d love to hear your opinion, Patience”, Louisa smiles: “excellent, we only need to find a day that works for all, then I will ring James to arrange for the viewing”.

  * A few days later, end of July, 1939, they all take the early morning train to Bournemouth. Katherini is very excited. It’s her first time on a train: “we are going soooo fast!!”, Leslie laughs: “faster than superman”, she jumps up and down in excitement: “yes!!!”, Spiros laughs: “take it easy koukla. The trip is more than 4hr long. If you keep jumping like that, by the time we get there, you will be exhausted”, Dimitra takes several colored pencils and coloring books out of her large bag and puts them on a small table: “here, why don’t you do these?”, Katherini sits and begins coloring the figures. Then Dimitra hands Mihalis a book: “this is yours, do you want it now?”, he takes it: “thank you, mama’, I will read it later”, the countess remarks: “I am impressed, Dimitra, you seem very organized”, Louisa laughs: “very organized indeed. That’s a necessity with small children. I used to always go around with huge bags full of snacks, toys, and other entertainment items. I am happy my children are old enough that they can entertain themselves now”, she is looking at Leslie reading a hunter’s magazine and Gerry staring at the birds out of the windows and comparing them to the figures in his bird guidebook.
  * In Bournemouth, James is waiting for them at the train station. Louisa approaches him: “hello, James, may I introduce my husband, Spiros Halikiopoulos?”, Spiros makes a big smile, and shakes his hand, winking: “the lucky Greek…”, James smiles: “indeed! Nice to meet you, Mr. Halikiopoulos”. They visit the two houses on St. Albans Ave. At the end of the visit, they are standing in the living room. Spiros comments: “I really like this house. It is perfect for our needs”, Patience agrees: “yes, it’s very nice”, Gerry looks happy too: “and the back garden is large!”, Spiros laughs: “enough for your zoo, Gerry?”, Louisa looks perplexed: “zoo? How many animals do you plan to bring home, son?”, he laughs: “as many as I can find! And Spiros said he will help me build cages for them!”, Louisa looks at the two of them: “why do I feel like there is a conspiracy here and things have already been decided behind my back?”, Spiros laughs, hugs her, and gives a soft kiss: “no conspiracy, love, only a continuation of what you already allowed on Corfu”, she looks at him with a pretend stern gaze: “mmm, it still _feels_ like a conspiracy”, he gives her a long kiss: “did that make it _feel_ better?”, she giggles: “much better, love”, Gerry is standing behind his mother. She can’t see him. He looks at Spiros, winks, then mouths silently: “thank you…”, Leslie laughs: “this is one lost cause, and you know that, mother…”, she chuckles: “I do!”.
  * James is watching the very domestic scene quietly. He smiles: “do I sense it correctly that you intend to put an offer on this house?”, Louisa looks at the countess and Dennis: “if they like the house next door…”, Dennis takes the countess’ hand in his: “I’ve liked it!”, she smiles at him sweetly: “me too! It’s perfect for the two of us”, Spiros smiles: “then, yes, I think we should make an offer”, Dimitra suggests: “why don’t we take a walk around the neighborhood, first? We can get an idea of the area, then find a place to sit and eat our sandwiches. It’s almost lunch time.”, Christos takes her hand: “I like the idea love, especially the part where we eat lunch”, Leslie laughs: “me too. I am hungry!”, James smiles: “there is a nice park nearby, you may want to go there for lunch”, Louisa agrees: “excellent idea, let’s do that, then”.
  * First, they take a stroll around the neighborhood. As they walk along James points at things: “the local pub, the grocer’s shop, a tea house, the newsagent’s, the chemist’s, two family doctors’ offices... and this is the elementary school. Not very far, as you were able to see. A ten-minute walk”, Katherini notices the school’s playground: “this is sooo nice!”, James smiles: “I am happy you like it, Katherini. How about you, Mihalis, do you like it?”, “oh I don’t know… it’s just a school”, he is obviously less enthusiastic than his little sister”, Spiros laughs: “and you will learn many useful and important things there, son”, Mihalis smiles: “I know, bampa’, I know…”. When they get to the park Gerry makes a big happy smile: “oh it’s big and it has ponds and large areas with vegetation!”, Louisa smiles sweetly: “that means lots of animals, eh son?”, Spiros is walking next to her, holding Louisa’s hand. He ruffles Gerry’s hair: “it seems this neighborhood is receiving some pretty enthusiastic approval from our children”, she smiles: “the decision might have been taken, then. Now I only hope our offer will be accepted”, James smiles: “well, that will be my job. Let’s all go back to my office so that we can discuss the offers you wish to make and I can prepare the paperwork for you to sign”.

  * Later, at the train station Spiros approaches a newsagent’s. He picks up something, pays for it, and returns to the group, waiting to board the train. Louisa is curious: “what did you buy, love?”, he takes his purchase out of his Jacket’s pocket and hands it to her: “oh, it’s a map of Bournemouth!”, he smiles: “I want to begin studying it. I’d really like to be a taxi driver here, but I need to know the roads very well, before I can do that”, she smiles at him sweetly and gives him a loving kiss: “good idea, I know it will make you happy. That truly is the job for you”, he smiles: “yes, I like being outdoors and driving” she smirks: “and chatting people up”, he giggles: “yes, that too…”, she makes a funny smile: “even women? Should I worry?”, he laughs: “you probably should. My chatting skills did work very well with a certain English lady!”, he winks at her, she slaps his arm and makes a pouting face. He smiles at her sweetly: “you know you have nothing to worry about, my love” he pulls her towards him and gives her a long kiss. She happily returns it. Leslie smiles: “the usual molasses…”. Patience smiles: “the Greek ways being implemented”, Dimitra frowns: “well…”, Gerry chuckles and begins speaking at the same time: “actually… I have never seen anybody doing that in Greece”, Leslie agrees: “me neither. It’s just these two…”, Dimitra and Christos nod, smiling. In that moment, Spiros and Louisa stop kissing. Spiros laughs: “and proudly so!”, then he gives Louisa another kiss. They all smile sweetly.
  * Gerry smirks: “if Larry was here he’d say it’s the French way”, Dennis laughs: “mmm I do like that idea!”, turns towards the countess and gives her a kiss. She laughs: “Larry has an exaggerated idea of the French ways, but it is true that public expressions of affection are more common in France than either here or Greece”, Dennis makes a naughty smile: “happy to reinforce the stereotypes, ma belle dame française”, and gives her another long kiss. She happily returns it. Leslie chuckles: “more molasses…”, Gerry corrects: “plus de mélasse”, they all laugh.

(trnsl: my beautiful French lady; more molasses)

  * Later, they are all back on the train, tired after the long day. Dimitra is leaning against Christos who has his arms around her. Katherini is sleeping in her mother’s lap. Mihalis and Gerry have dozed off too, leaning against the headrest and/or each other. Leslie too has his eyes shut. The countess is leaning against Dennis’ shoulder, her eyes closed. Not asleep yet, just relaxing. Dennis is happily holding her hand in her lap, their fingers intertwined. Spiros puts his arm around Louisa’s shoulders and gently pulls her towards him: “you look tired, my love, do rest a bit, if you wish”, he leans against the window and she leans against his chest, hugging him: “I can’t sleep. I am too excited at the idea of us buying a house, my love”, he wraps his arms around her and smiles sweetly: “me too. I am happy we are buying a house together. It will feel like we are truly married”, she lifts her head and looks at him perplexed: “didn’t you feel like we were married before?”, he laughs: “of course I did! We got married twice after all! But I just moved in with you. In your space. This time it’s different. We will move in our new house together and we will set up ‘our’ space as a family”, she smiles sweetly: “I never realized you felt that way. I did not think it was a problem for you to move in with us”, he smiles sweetly: “I’d never call it a _problem_. It was one of the happiest moments in my life, my love”, he leans towards her lips and kisses her tenderly, she returns his kiss: “and in my life…”, they look into each other’s eyes sweetly and kiss again, many times, lovingly. Patience is sitting opposite to them, her eyes semi closed. She is smiling, pleased to see her niece so happy after many years of sadness and mourning. Finally…

  * The next day, the phone rings, Patience answers, then makes a big smile: “it’s James!”, Spiros is walking by, Patience hands the phone to him, James is excited: “I have excellent news for you, Mr. Halikiopoulos. The vendors have accepted both offers. Those two houses are yours!”, Spiros gestures to Louisa, the countess, and Dennis who are sitting on the sofas, listening to music on the gramophone: “we got the houses!!”, they all cheer. Spiros continues listening to the phone then turns towards the others: “closing date is Monday September 18th”, then he listens to the phone again: “yes, of course, we will ring when we know a date that works for all”, then he closes the conversation and turns towards the others: “we need to plan another trip to Bournemouth to do the paperwork”. That evening they are all very excited and begin talking about their move. Patience offers: “Prudence and I can help with our automobiles”, Louisa smiles: “that’s a very nice offer, but considering the number of trunks stored in your basement, I think we are better off with a moving company with a lorry that can carry everything”, the countess agrees: “yes, I am sure we can fit all of our trunks in one lorry”, Gerry adds: “and Papaya’s cage”, Louisa smiles: “of course, darling”.

  * The next day, afternoon, Spiros walks into the house and announces: “I have finished studying the driver’s handbook and I have just taken the written test. I have passed it with no errors!”, Louisa walks up to him and gives him a kiss: “congratulations, my love!”, he makes a happy smile: “I have booked an appointment for the driving test for the afternoon of Thursday, August 3rd , will I be able to borrow your car on that day, Patience?”, “yes, of course, Spiro!”, then he turns to Louisa: “and I’d need someone to drive me there”, she smiles: “happy to, my love”.

  * Friday, July 28th, 1939. Only two weeks after their arrival in England, Louisa, Spiros, the countess, and Dennis return to Bournemouth to sign the paperwork for the purchase of their new houses. James smiles: “congratulations, those houses are yours now and you can plan your move any time on September 18 or later”, Spiros is happy: “excellent! Would it be possible for us to see them again? I’d like to determine whether or not they need renovations or repair jobs that we may want to do before we move in”, James smiles: “let me make a couple of telephone calls and see whether we can arrange that for today”. While James is on the phone, Louisa smiles: “good thinking, love”, he smirks: “your favorite handyman?”, she laughs, leans towards him and whispers: “my favorite everything”, they smile at each other and kiss. James puts down the phone: “we can go after lunch and you can catch the evening train back to London”, Louisa smiles: “excellent timing, thank you James”.
  * For lunch Louisa, Spiros, the countess, and Dennis go to a nice restaurant in Bournemouth to celebrate their purchases. Spiros raises his glass of red wine for a toast: “to a happy life in Bournemouth”, he looks at Louisa: “I know, it will be happy”, she smiles at him sweetly: “I know that too, because you are with me”, they exchange a long kiss. When they stop kissing they see the countess and Dennis are kissing too. They smile. Happy couples. In that moment Dennis drops on his knee with a small box in his hand: “my love, would you make this happy moment perfect by accepting to be my wife?”, the countess looks shocked, her mouth open, her hands on her cheeks: “oh mon Dieu, Dennis…”, he is looking up at her, with very loving eyes. For a moment she seems uncertain. His expression changes to really, really, sad: “is that a no?”, she begins weeping. Tears roll down his cheeks too: “that’s what I dreaded…”, she puts her hands on his cheeks and wipes his tears: “mon amour, I’d be honored to be your wife… I was just very surprised by your proposal”, he immediately makes a very happy smile and puts the ring on her finger: “this was my grandmother’s. It has been in my family for generations”, still crying, she lifts her hand: “it is beautiful, thank you for giving it to me, my love”. He is still on his knee. She leans towards him. They kiss. A long, happy, love kiss. Louisa and Spiros are smiling very sweetly, watching quietly, to avoid intruding in that beautiful moment. Eventually, Dennis gets up. Spiros raises his glass: “another toast is in order, to a happy marriage in your new home!”, Louisa raises her glass too: “congratulations, my friends!”, then she and Spiros hug the countess and Dennis.

(trnsl: oh my God, Dennis; my love)

  * Monday, July 31st. Louisa and Spiros go to work. They see the headmaster welcoming the children in the hallway. They approach her. She smiles: “good morning, Mr. and Mrs. Halikiopoulos”, they smile, Spiros asks: “would you have a moment for a quick meeting today?”, “yes, of course. Maybe at the end of your shift?’, Louisa smiles: “that would be perfect, thank you”. They spend the morning organizing games with the children. Today they bring their two classes together, as they often do, and organize a few team games. The children have lots of fun. They are all very keen about their teachers, especially Spiros. A little girl runs up to him, in tears. He picks her up gently: “what’s wrong, Alice?”, “Dan took my toy”, Spiros wipes her tears: “let’s go and talk to Dan, shall we?”, he takes Alice’s hand then he kneels next to Dan: “Dan, that is a nice toy, where did you find it?”, Dan blushes and points at Alice, “did you take it from her?”, Dan nods shyly, looking down, “did you take it because you liked it?”, Dan nods: “was Alice playing with it?”, Dan nods again, “did she cry when you took it from her?”, Dan nods again, looking down: “and was that a good thing?”, Dan shakes his head, Spiros smiles sweetly: “it is never a good thing to upset other people with our behavior. Do you agree?”, Dan nods, “but sometimes it can happen. Maybe by mistake. What do we do when that happens?”, Dan replies with very faint voice: “we say sorry…”, Spiros smiles sweetly: “yes, and what else?”, Dan hands the toy to Alice who makes a happy smile and grabs it. Spiros looks at Alice: “Dan has apologized and returned the toy, what do we say?”, the little girl speaks shyly: “thank you, Dan”, still kneeling, Spiros hugs the two children, one in each arm: “since you both like it so much, is there a way that, maybe, the two of you can play with that toy together?”, Alice looks not so sure, but then she nods. Spiros makes a big happy smile: “excellent!”, then he walks away, allowing the children to sort their game. The headmaster is watching form a distance, with a soft smile. Spiros notices that. He smiles in her direction.
  * At the end of their shift they go to the headmaster’s office. Spiros speaks: “we wanted to let you know that we have purchased a house in Bournemouth. The closing date will be September 18”, Louisa adds: “we are loving this job and we are sorry we will have to leave it”, Spiros smiles: “we like the children”, the headmaster smiles too: “and the children love you. I am sorry to see you go”, Louisa smiles: “I hope you have enough time to find substitutes. We plan to have our last day here on Friday September 15th”, the headmaster nods: “thanks for letting me know. I will post a job search later today. It’d be preferable if we could find new people who can overlap with you for a while”, Spiros nods: “yes, that would make the transition easier for the children”, the headmaster looks at Spiros: “I really like your approach with the children, Mr. Halikiopoulos”, Spiros smiles: “thank you, madam. I deal with them the same way I did with my own children when they were younger”, the headmaster smiles: “and the children love it. They are completely smitten with you. They will be sad when they learn you will leave”, Spiros smiles: “I will be sad to leave them too. They are very sweet children”, “especially when they are with you, Mr. Halikiopoulos. They are particularly well behaved with you”, Louisa smiles: “yes, he is very good with children”, he turns towards Louisa and makes a silly smile: “only with children?”, she smiles at him sweetly: “with everyone, really. You are a very good man”, he looks at her with loving eyes: “I will remind you of that, the next time we disagree on something, love”, they all laugh.

  * Tuesday, August 1st, 1939. Evening. Patience, Sarah, Leslie, Gerry, the countess, and Dennis are all sitting in the living room, reading books and/or letters and listening to the wireless. Louisa and Spiros walk in. She is wearing her pretty peach-colored dress, with a nice handmade shawl, her pearl earrings, and the pearl heart-shaped pendant Spiros got her in Malta. Her hair is done nicely and she has applied a light make up. Spiros is wearing his nice suit and tie and has brill cream in his hair. Patience and Sarah look surprised. Leslie smiles: “yes, I thought you would!”, Gerry smiles too: “me too… since you almost skipped one 1st of the month date on the ship”, Louisa smiles: “yes, we are going out tonight”, Patience smiles: “any special celebrations?”, Spiros looks at Louisa sweetly: “very special. It’s 14 months since our first day of love”, Sarah smiles: “oh, that’s sweet!”, the countess smiles: “yes, very! Going anywhere special for your special celebration?”, Louisa laughs: “I actually don’t know. Spiros says he has a surprise for me”, he giggles: “and I shall keep it a surprise! May we borrow your car, Patience?”, “of course!”, Louisa looks at him perplexed: “but you can’t drive. You still don’t have a British license”, he laughs: “but you do! So you can drive”, “how, if I don’t know where we are going?”, he gives her a soft kiss: “you will just have to follow my directions, love… if you can manage to trust me…”, she laughs sweetly: “of course I trust you!”, he giggles: “so you say, but over the past 14 months you have repeatedly shown that you don’t truly. Always doubting what I say…”, she makes a sweet smile: “that was very unfair, love. You know that I do trust you”, he gives her a soft kiss: “start driving, then, my love”, then he turns towards the others: “see you later!”, Patience and the others: “bye!”, Leslie calls after them: “have fun, lovebirds!”, Gerry adds: “sandhill cranes…”.
  * After a bit of driving, Spiros smiles happily: “we have arrived. You can park here, love”, she parks and they get off the car: “welcome to Drummond street, my love”, she looks puzzled, he makes a sweet smile: “according to the Indian man who runs the newsagent’s near Patience’s house, the best Indian restaurants in London are here”, she makes a very happy smile and gives him a loving kiss: “such a lovely idea, thank you so much, love!”, he happily returns her kiss and looks into her eyes very sweetly: “let’s go in, then. You can let me know how authentic this is”. In the restaurant, they sit at a table and look at the menu. Louisa asks: “what would you like, love?”, he smiles sweetly: “I will let you order for me. I will trust you”, she giggles: “so you do trust me…”, he laughs: “always, especially when it comes to Indian food…”, she smiles, calls the waiter and orders several dishes speaking Hindi. Spiros smiles: “it seems you have ordered lots of food”, she laughs: “they are all small dishes. And the waiter said if we have leftovers we can take them home”. The food arrives. She tries it: “this is delicious, thank you so much for taking me here, love!”, she reaches for his hand on the table and caresses it. They lean towards each other and exchange a long kiss: “I am so happy you like this restaurant, love. I wanted our first date in England to be special”, she gives him another kiss and smiles sweetly: “every day with you is special my love, and these past 14 months have been truly marvelous”, he kisses her: “I am so happy you’d said that, my love, because that’s exactly how I feel”, they kiss again.

  * Thursday, August 3rd. They are having breakfast. Gerry gets up: “I am off to work. Good luck for today, Spiro!”, he smiles: “thank you Gerry!”, Sarah looks puzzled: “good luck?”, Louisa smiles: “today Spiro has his driving test”, Leslie smiles: “oh, you will pass it easily, you are a taxi driver after all!”, Spiros smiles: “I sure hope so, but I must admit I am rather nervous”, Louisa grabs his hand: “well, that’s normal, but I am sure you will do very well, love. Just remember to always drive on the left…”, they reach for each other’s lips and exchange a tender kiss. The others smile. Leslie adds: “you will do great, as long as mother is not in the car with you during the test”, Spiros looks puzzled: “why shouldn’t she?”, Gerry laughs: “she’d be too much of a distraction!”, Leslie chuckles: “obviously!”, Patience smiles: “you do have a point, children…”, the countess agrees: “indeed!”, they all laugh.
  * Later that afternoon Gerry returns from his job at the pet shop. Louisa, the countess, Patience, and Sarah are sitting in the living room, having tea and chatting amicably. Gerry approaches them: “how did Spiro’s test go?”, Louisa replies: “very well, he passed and the examiner complimented him for his driving skills”, Gerry smiles: “oh, he must be very happy!”, she chuckles: “yes, and he is very, very, full of himself, right now. He has been bragging about being the best driver on earth all day”, Gerry laughs: “where is him?”, “in the back garden, he is finishing roof repairs, and Dennis is cutting the grass, Patience smiles: “this house has never been so well looked after”, Louisa laughs: “don’t tell Spiro, please. He will be even more smug…”, Gerry laughs and walks towards the back garden. They can all hear him as he is exiting the house: “Spiro, mother says you are all smug about your driving test…”, they hear Spiros’ happy laugh, Louisa laughs too, with a sweet smile. Spiros’ laugh is the best sound in the world to her ears…

  * The next day, after their work at the school, Louisa and Spiros are walking back home, hand in hand. He gently pulls her along a road they usually don’t take: “why are we going this way love?”, he smirks: “still can’t trust me, he?”, she giggles and continues walking along. They reach the newsagent’s and Spiros starts chatting with the salesman amicably: “thank you for recommending that restaurant on Drummond street, my friend. My Anglo-Indian wife here, really liked it. And you know how it goes; happy wife, happy life… and happy husband…”, he winks. The Indian man laughs, then he turns to Louisa: “aapase milakar achchha laga, maidam”, he takes Louisa’s hand and kisses it, she smiles: “aanand mera hai, us restaraan kee siphaarish karane ke lie dhanyavaad, sar”, he smiles: “mujhe khushee hai ki meree siphaarish kaam kar gaee. aapake pati sahee maayane mein aapako khush karana chaahate the, maidam”, she smiles sweetly, looking at Spiros: “haan, vah ek pyaara aadamee hai”, Spiros is looking at her: “I hope you are talking nicely about me, love”, the Indian man laughs: “very nicely, my friend”, Spiros laughs: “phew, for a moment I was worried…”.

(trnsl: nice to meet you, madam; the pleasure is mine, thank you for recommending that restaurant, sir; I am glad my recommendation worked. Your husband truly wanted to make you happy, madam; yes, he is a sweet man).

  * Then he looks at the papers on the counter: “do you still have the Evening Standard?”, he laughs: “I have kept the last copy especially for you, my friend”, he hands it to Spiros, he smiles: “thank you!”, he pays for it, then grabs Louisa’s hand and they continue walking towards home: “why did you want the local paper, love?”, he smiles: “for the classified advertising section. I am hoping for a good second hand car on sale”, she smiles: “why am I not surprised you’d want that?”, he laughs: “because you know me so well, my love”, he stops and gives her a kiss: “I will repay you for the cost”, she looks at him sweetly: “I know you will, even if you don’t have to. It’s our money…”, he smiles: “I know, but I am a stupid and proud Greek man”, he wraps her in his arms and gives her another kiss: “…who loves you so much”, she kisses him back, smiling sweetly: “I love you too, even when you are so stubborn…”, then she looks up behind his back and blushes. She grabs his hand and pulls on it: “let’s go home, love, we are giving a show…”, he turns around. Several people standing at a bus stop across the street are watching. He makes a big happy smile and speaks to them loudly enough that they can hear: “sorry… you know, I just can’t help it… I have the sweetest wife...”, and he points at her. She laughs, blushed, and swats his arm: “Spiro! Let’s go home, shall we?”, the people at the bus stop are smiling sweetly now. Still blushed, she pulls on his hand. He follows her: “whatever you say, my love, I’d go to the moon and back with you”, she smiles sweetly and whispers: “so would I, my romantic husband”, he stops, gently pulls her towards him, and gives her another kiss, she smiles at him lovingly: “let’s go…”, “all right, my love, take me to the moon…”, he lets her pull him along, still holding hands.

  * Saturday August 5th. They are all having breakfast. Louisa turns to Spiros: “are the children with us this weekend?”, “today they are going to Hilltop Park with Dimitra and Christos. They will be with us tomorrow”, Louisa smiles: “then we should make plans for fun activities”, Gerry suggests: “how about a visit to the London zoo?”, Spiros smiles: “that’s not a bad idea, actually”, Louisa laughs: “and can I assume you’d be interested in joining us, darling?”, Gerry makes a big happy smile: “obviously, mother…”. Louisa turns towards the others: “is anybody else interested in going with us?”, Leslie replies: “I’d rather stay here, mother. I want to study for my driving test. …and Gerry’s zoos are all the animals I need to see, especially these days that I find myself sleeping with a monkey and a dog”. Louisa laughs, then turns towards Patience: “how about you?”, she smiles: “I have been there before, so no thank you. But you can count on using my car. Mother and I will stay here and have a relaxing day”, the countess makes a happy smile: “oh, I’d like to go too!”, then she turns towards Dennis: “how about you, love?”, he smiles at her: “of course, love, as you wish”, she smiles back: “you don’t have to go if you are not interested…”, he looks at her with loving eyes: “of course I am interested. How can I not be if you are there…”, she smiles sweetly: “charmer…”, they exchange a soft kiss.

  * Monday August 7th. After work, Louisa and Spiros are at home, having lunch with the countess, Dennis, Patience, and Sarah. Spiros asks: “may we borrow your car, today, Patience?”, “of course Spiro”, Louisa looks curious: “what for?”, he makes a smirk: “it’s a surprise”, she looks intrigued: “am I going with you?”, he laughs: “it’d be lovely if you did…”, she looks very curious now: “and you won’t tell me why?”, he laughs: “still can’t trust me eh?”, she laughs too: “you know I do! I am just curious”, he laughs: “nosey...”, she swats him: “I said curious! It’s a different word, with a different meaning”, he smirks, looking at her teasingly: “I know… nosey…”, she laughs. They kiss… After lunch they leave. Patience smiles: “well, I must admit I am curious too now”, the countess laughs: “me too!”, Sarah adds: “so am I!”, Dennis smirks: “I am not!”, the countess chuckles: “liar…”, he giggles: “touché!”, they kiss.
  * About two hours later, they are sitting in the living room, when they hear the sound of an unfamiliar horn. They look out of the large window and see Spiros sitting in a car, with the biggest Spiros’ smile, ever. Across the street, Louisa is parking Patience’s car. Dennis walks outside: “is this yours?”, Spiros is still smiling very happily. He waves the paperwork: “yes, just bought it!”, Dennis exclaims: “a Morris Ten! Nice choice, they are good vehicles!”, “they are!”, “what model is it?”, “it’s a series II, made in 1936, 4-door, 4-speed, 1292cc, 10HP engine”, Dennis looks impressed: “4 speeds?!?!”, Spiros nods, with a big happy smile: “yes, Morris introduced the 4th gear in 1936”.
  * Louisa approaches: “it’s fairly new and we got it for a good price”, Spiros smiles: “that’s because the man kept looking at your legs while we were negotiating!”, she chuckles: “that is such an exaggeration!”, he laughs: “it isn’t! He couldn’t take his eyes off you, my love”, she giggles: “that’s what you do, love. Other men don’t”, he giggles too: “I sure do admire your beauty and I can see it very well when other men do too”, she laughs: “I didn’t think you were that jealous a man, Spiro”, he smiles sweetly: “I am not. I’d be jealous if you responded to their advances, but you seem to not even notice it when other men look at you that way”, she laughs: “I think you are making this all up, my charmer”, he smiles: “I am not! I can tell from their gazes what other men think of you. For example, Dennis here thinks you look good but he doesn’t look at you that way”, Dennis blushes: “hey, keep me out of this, you two”, Spiros laughs: “you only have eyes for your beloved fiancée, my friend, I can see that”, Dennis smiles sweetly, blushed, then Spiros turns towards Louisa: “instead, that man across the street couldn’t take his eyes off your knees when your skirt pulled up as you were getting off the car”, she turns around and notices a man sitting on a bench, with a newspaper on his lap. She gives him a skeptical stare: “are you sure?”, Dennis laughs: “actually… I’ve noticed that too…”, Louisa blushes: “well, good thing I haven’t, then!”, Spiros makes a naughty smile: “if I have to guess what he is hiding under that newspaper…”, Dennis laughs. She really blushes and swats Spiros’ arm: “stop that, Spiro”.
  * In that moment, they hear laughing. Patience, Sarah, and the countess are standing at the door. The countess remarks: “interesting conversation, gentlemen. And here we were, thinking you’d be talking about the new automobile…”, they all laugh. Spiros makes a big happy smile: “how do you like it? I finally feel complete again!”, Louisa laughs: “oh that was so very flattering for me, dear…”, she makes a pretend pouting face: “maybe I will go and introduce myself to that man across the street who according to the two of you likes my knees…”, Spiros laughs, walks up to her, and warps his arms around her: “don’t you dare…”, she smirks: “jealous a bit?”, he laughs: “not yet, but if you do walk up to him, I may have to punch his pretty British face. That would be such a pity…”, she laughs. He kisses her then he makes a contrite face: “I am so very sorry, love. That did not come out well at all. I am very complete with _you_, my love. It’s not the car that does that”, she smiles sweetly: “I know love, but I also know how important it was for you to have an automobile again. I am happy you do now”, he looks at her lovingly; “you always understand me so well…”, they kiss again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Has anybody here seen the very enticing tweet on the Durrells page? It was posted on Dec 26, 2019 and it says: "good things come to those that wait". Gosh now I can't wait to learn what this is all about!! A new series? A feature length?
> 
> A personal note: on a recent visit to London UK an Indian friend has actually recommended Drummond St for Indian restaurants. There are a whole bunch there. My husband and I have tried a few and they were all delicious.
> 
> A few historic notes:
> 
> Leslie did become a porter. I think that was later, though, after the war and after he returned from Kenya where he had set up a coffee plantation (which did not work out). So not 100% accurate here.
> 
> The addresses in Bournemouth I mention here are all real addresses the Durrells have occupied, either before or after their period on Corfu. After Corfu, Louisa Durrell bought the house at 52 St. Albans ave.
> 
> A few years later (1947), when she returned from South Africa, divorced with two children, Margo bought the house across the road from her mother (51 St Albans ave) and set it up as a boarding house, following advice from aunt Patience.
> 
> Speaking of aunt Patience, I can't figure whether she was Louisa's or her children's aunt. If she was the children's aunt, then she was either Louisa or Lawrence Durrell's sister. I can't find this information. An old photo of Louisa and Lawrence's wedding shows Lawrence's sister Prudence (the other aunt in this story). Michael Haag's book mentions 3 brothers for Louisa (but only names two) and no sisters. 
> 
> Aunt Patience and her mother Sarah are mentioned in Margaret Durrell's book. She specifically says it was aunt Patience who advised using her father's inheritance to set up a boarding house that would give her financial independence, which I find incredibly modern for those times. Margaret Durrell also mentions Patience's mother, great-aunt Sarah and the fact that they'd visit her and Louisa with Patience's car, which Patience drove herself. Again, very modern for those years.


	41. The Durrells/Halikiopoulos in London, Part II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Last set of London's adventures before they move to Bournemouth. 
> 
> Some fluff, some not-so fluff, and some war related stuff - the latter definitely not fluff...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case you have missed it, here is the link to a recent article on the new production on the Durrell in the making! 😀👍
> 
> http://britishperioddramas.com/news/the-durrells-sequel-series-could-follow-the-family-back-in-england/
> 
> I soooo hope there is more Spiros somewhere in there. Maybe a visit to his favorite British lady in Bournemouth? ❤️❤️❤️

  * A few days later Gerry returns home from his job at the pet shop. His mother, Spiros, Patience, Sarah, the countess, and Dennis are sitting in the living room, listening to the BBC news on the radio. Gerry reports: “today I had a Greek client, a certain Panagiotis Papazafiropoulos from Ioannina. He was impressed that I was able to pronounce his name. We had a nice chat in Greek. He told me that the Greek club will have a party next Saturday, August 19th. There will be Greek food and music. Louisa turns to Spiros with a happy smile: “oh, prepei na pame!”, he smiles sweetly: “nai, agapi mou, prepei na pame. Boroume na chorepsoume ellinikoi’ choroi’ mazi”, she looks at him with loving eyes: “tha ithela poly’, agapi mou”, they lean towards each other and kiss. Patience smiles: “I did not get the words but I think that was a _let’s go_”, they all smile, the countess replies: “most definitely a _let’s go and dance together_”, Patience smiles: “thanks for the translation. I am impressed with how well you all know Greek”, the countess smiles: “well I was married to a Greek for more than 30 years”, Gerry adds: “and we lived in Greece for 4 years”, Louisa laughs: “and dating Greek girls sure helped you and your bothers!”, he smirks at her: “just like dating a Greek man helped you, mother. Your Greek was very rudimentary before Spiro moved in with us…”, Louisa blushes, Spiros breaks into one of his contagious happy laughs and gives her a loving kiss, mumbling into her mouth: “aren’t I the best motivation to learn a language?”, she mumbles back at him: “pretentious bighead…”. He giggles. They keep kissing. The others all laugh, smiling sweetly.

(trnsl: we should go; yes, my love, we should go. We can dance Greek dances together; I’d like that very much, my love)

  * The next morning, after breakfast Louisa and Spiros go on a walk. They stop at the red phone kiosk at the end of the road. She takes his hand and pulls him inside. They stand very close to each other in the small space. He wraps his arms around her waist and gives her a loving kiss. As they are kissing he pulls her towards him and begins rubbing himself against her: “mmm, I am liking this small kiosk”, she giggles: “behave love, the walls are made of glass…”, he is kissing her neck now: “mmm, that’s too bad…”, she moans softly and laughs: “and that’s not what we are here for”, he makes a pretend surprised face: “we aren’t? And here I was, having funny thoughts when you dragged me in here”, she giggles, he gives her a long sensual kiss. She happily responds, their tongues playing with each other. After a while, she opens her eyes and sees a passerby staring at them: “behave, love, we are being watched”, he answers with annoyed yet jokeful voice: “mmm bloody English peeping Tom… I am going to have to punch his face”, she laughs: “no such a thing love. Let’s make our telephone calls, now”, he giggles: “telephone calls? Is that why you have dragged me in here?”, she laughs: “of course, this is a telephone kiosk!”, he laughs too: “you English people have no imagination…”, she chuckles: “indeed, so let’s make our calls now”, he gives her another kiss: “who are we ringing?”, she smiles: “I want to let our Greek friends know about the party at the Greek club. It can be a wonderful opportunity for us all to meet”, he kisses her again: “that’s a great idea, but I still prefer _my_ use of the telephone kiosk…”, she giggles, takes her address book out of her handbag, puts coins in the slot, and dials the first number: “Florence, it’s nice to hear your voice….”.
  * That evening at dinner. Louisa informs the others: “today we rang all of our Greek friends. They are all going to the party at the Greek club. Even Soula said she will take the train to London to be able to attend”, Patience smiles: “she can stay in our guest bedroom if she needs to”, Louisa smiles: “thank you so much, Patience, I will let her know”, Gerry makes a big happy smile: “will Theo be at the party too?”, Louisa looks sad now: “Maria said he is being posted. He is leaving this week, for a hospital in Thessaloniki. He will be working with the anti-malaria unit”, Gerry looks disappointed, Spiros makes a sad face: “oh, Maria must be very sad”, Louisa nods: “yes, she cried on the telephone”, Spiros makes a sweet smile: “hopefully this party will be a distraction. We should ring her and Alexia’ often while Theo is away”, she smiles sweetly at him, her ever sensitive and caring husband: “yes, we should, that’s sweet of you to think”, he hugs her: “of course, I’d be sad if I had to be parted from you, my love”, she makes a loving smile: “so would I…”. They kiss…

  * The next day, they are all sitting around the dinner table. Leslie makes a big smile: “I’ve passed the written test for the driver’s license. And right after that I have made an appointment for my driving test. It’s next Wednesday. Patience smiles: “congratulations! You can use my automobile for the test. I’d also be happy to drive you there”, “thank you so much aunt! The appointment is for 6PM, after I am done with my shift at the hotel”, “that works well for me. It’s after our tea”, Spiros smirks: “if you want to be able to drive our new car, you’d better hurry up getting your license, Leslie”, Leslie smiles: “indeed, I can’t wait to drive a 4-speed!”.

  * Saturday August 19th, 1939: Party at the Greek club of London. They all drive to the club. Patience and Prudence have decided to go with them. As they walk in, Katherini and Mihalis run to a group of children. They have recognized some of their friends from the ship. Dimitra calls after them: “min trechete, paidia’!”. Then they all look around for familiar faces. Louisa smiles and waves her hand: “Florence!”, the two women walk toward each other and hug, Florence looks happy: “it is so nice to see you!”. Then they see their other friends, hug, kiss, laugh. They are all there, the Petridis, Maria and Alexia’, the judge and Georgia, Soula. Gerry hugs Maria and Alexia’: “hello, it is so nice to see you!”. They hug him back. They know he means to be nice to them on behalf of his friend Theo. Louisa inquires: “so how are you all settling in England?”. In that moment Louisa looks up, makes a very happy face, and runs right into the arms of a very handsome blond young man. She hugs him tightly: “I am so happy you are here too!!”, the man hugs her back and kisses her cheek sweetly: “my favorite almost-bride!”, Patience and Prudence are watching the scene, then they look at Spiros who is also smiling happily, making his way to the hugging pair. They seem perplexed. Gerry explains: “that is mother’s good friend Sven and his partner Viggo. Mother and Sven almost got married a few years ago”, Patience smiles: “I remember that. I don’t think your mother has ever told me what broke that engagement, but now I think I can guess…”, she is looking at Viggo. Leslie chuckles: “yes, that, and the fact that Spiro was already on mother’s radar”, Gerry smiles: “just too married and unattainable back then, to be a true possibility…”. Dimitra is listening. She nods. She knows…

(trnsl: don’t run, children!)

  * Sven, Viggo, Spiros, and Louisa walk back to the group of friends. They all greet each other and chat for a while, catching up on the past few weeks/months. They each have news. Georgia comments: “it’s so exciting that you have already bought houses in Bournemouth!”, the countess smiles: “you will have to come out there to see them after we move!”, Georgia agrees: “I’d love to!”, Florence nods: “yes, you will have to plan a housewarming party which we will all attend”, Dennis laughs: “I’d love that!”, then he looks at the countess with loving eyes and puts his arm around the small of her back: “maybe for our wedding…”, she looks at him sweetly: “we don’t have a date yet…”, Dennis gives her a loving kiss: “as far as I am concerned, the sooner, the better”, they kiss again, Florence smiles: “wedding?!? How exciting!”, they all congratulate Dennis and the countess on their engagement.
  * Louisa looks at Soula: “what is the news from Greece?”, she smiles: “my husband is still at the British base, mostly doing paperwork for the troops, now that most British nationals have left”, Louisa makes a sad smile. Not all nationals have left. Two of her children are still there. Spiros can see that and puts his arm around her shoulders. Louisa asks Soula: “any news as to when he will be joining you here?”, she makes a sad smile: “the British troops will leave Corfu if a war is declared. At that point he will be able to come to England”, Louisa makes a sad smile too: “the world we live in… having to wish for a war declaration…”. Spiros looks very sad now: “so it is decided, isn’t it? If a war is declared, Britain will not be defending Corfu…”, Louisa looks at him with sad eyes: “the Greek government is not helping. They are taking more and more pro-nazi and pro-fascist positions…”, he makes a very sad smile: “I know… those traitors… and the civilian population will have to pay… like before…”. They all stand around looking sad now. Spiros looks up: “I am so sorry. I did not mean to sour the mood. We should be happy we have brought our loved ones to safety. Then he turns around: “this looks like a fantastic party. We should all enjoy it”, he grabs Louisa’s hand and squeezes it gently: “let’s join the Greek dances, my love”, they walk to the dance floor. Their friends and children follow them and they all join the large circle of dancers.

  * The party is held outdoor on this sunny and warm August day. After dancing for a long time, Louisa and Spiros stop by the flowerbed near the dance floor. Louisa smiles at him: “that was fun love but I am really thirsty now”, he smiles sweetly: “I will get us something to drink, just wait here a moment, love. Your beauty will match these beautiful flowers very well”, she looks at him with loving eyes: “you are always so sweet to me, Spiro”, he hugs and kisses her lovingly: “it’s because you _are_ sweet, my love”, he kisses her again, then he goes to get drinks. While Spiros is at the drinks table, Dennis notices a familiar figure walking towards Louisa: “Spiro, is that Hugh?”. Louisa is looking the other way and has not noticed that. Spiros murmurs angrily: “son of a bitch…”, as he quickly returns to Louisa with the drinks. He gets near her before Hugh. He gives her a drink and puts his arm around the small of her back. She takes a long gulp and smiles at him sweetly: “thank you love, I was really thirsty after all that dancing”, then she sees Hugh, shyly standing next to them. He looks at her: “hello Louisa. It has been a long time…”, she looks at him stunned. She tucks closer to Spiros’ arms, still around her lower back. He holds her tightly. She does not say a word. Hugh continues: “I am so sorry about what I have done to you. I really regret it. Will you ever be able to forgive me? I still love you…”, sounding very, very, stern, she answers with firm voice: “Hugh there is one thing I have learned about myself from that experience. Now I know that I am capable of very deep, profound, unreserved _hate_. I did not know I could do that. I hate you with all my heart, Hugh. You have ruined months and months of my life. You have ruined my faith in men. You have caused me and my family a hardship I never thought would be possible. I want to have nothing to do with you. I don’t want to know what you do, where you are, how you feel, whether you are dead or alive. I want you out of my life forever. Leave Hugh, and don’t come back”, she turns to Spiros who remains quiet, his arm still around the small of her back. Hugh leaves with teary eyes.
  * Spiros looks at Louisa. She is quite upset, shaking lightly, her eyes shining with tears. Holding his arm around her, he steers her towards a bench at the back of the garden. They sit. He talks to her sweetly: “my love, how are you feeling?”, she answers with faint voice: “I don’t know… very numb…”. He caresses her cheeks, wiping her tears with his thumbs. She leans her head against his shoulder. He wraps his arms around her. She weeps in his embrace. He holds her and speaks to her ear with very sweet and loving voice: “my love, he is gone. I am here with you. Don’t cry”. She keeps crying in the crook of his neck for a while. He continues stroking her back and hair, whispering loving words in her ear, patiently and lovingly waiting for her to calm down. Finally, she looks up, her eyes still teary: “I love you, Spiro”, he answers very sweetly: “I love you too, Louisa. I always will”. They kiss tenderly. Many times.
  * Their friends, children, Patience, and Prudence are watching. Prudence asks: “who was that?”, Leslie replies with angry voice: “Hugh Jarvis. We had not seen him since the assault trial”, Prudence sounds upset: “and what is he doing here?”, Florence guesses: “he must have found out about the party. He is of Greek descent, after all”, Gerry adds: “and we knew he had moved back to England…”, Patience looks upset too: “and what did he want from Louisa?”, Gerry replies with angry voice: “I don’t really know, but he seems to have been put off by their conversation”, Leslie sounds angry too: “he’d better! I am ready to punch him hard if he goes near mother again!”, Prudence is watching Louisa and Spiros sitting on the bench. He is wiping her tears with his handkerchief, then he kisses her lovingly: “well, right now she seems to have the support she needs”. Dr. Petridis nods: “Spiro is always very loving and supportive. I am happy to see life in England is not changing that. I know he has made a huge difference in her recovery from PTS”, Dr. Mavrodaki agrees: “he sure has!”, Leslie smiles: “he is wonderful. I don’t know what we would have done without him”. Gerry, smiles too: “oh yes, he is always very loving. The cooing continues unabated to this day. I am so happy mother has him”. Leslie agrees: “yes, they are the usual lovebirds. It’s nice to know some things will never change”. Gerry nods: “yea, they are even more bonded than a pair of sandhill cranes”, Maria smiles sweetly: “your usual very romantic comparison, Gerry. Theo would be very proud of you”. They all laugh. A sad laugh, at the notion that Theo is not with them.
  * Maria looks very sad. Florence reaches for her hand, pulls her near her and gives her a big hug: “he is safe at the hospital. And he will return”, Maria hugs her back, with a sad smile: “I know, it’s just so hard…”, Florence keeps hugging her: “we are here for you, my friend. Theo does not want you to be sad”, Maria nods: “I know and I need to be strong for Alexia’…”, Florence looks at her and smiles: “what are you doing next Sunday? Do you have time to come over for tea?”, Maria nods: “yes, I do, thank you. It’s so nice to have good friends”, Florence smiles sweetly: “you know we will always be there for you. All of us. Corfu’s magic atmosphere has created bonds that will last a lifetime”. In that moment Louisa and Spiros approach, their arms around each other’s lower back. They hear that last sentence, Louisa agree: “that is so very true!”, Florence smiles: “are you busy next Sunday? Care to join us for tea at our house in West London?”, then she turns towards the others: “you are all invited!”, Dr. Petridis makes a happy face: “such a lovely idea!”, Louisa smiles: “we’d be happy to be there. We can bring scones and biscuits”, Florence accepts gladly: “that would be lovely, Louisa, your scones are unbeatable!”, Spiros adds: “and I can bring my guitar, for the Greek music!”, Gerry agrees enthusiastically: “me too!”.
  * Leslie notices that Hugh is still in a corner, watching Louisa and Spiros. He approaches him and speaks with angry voice: “you know that there is an international restraint order, Hugh. You must leave immediately. I will call the police if you don’t. Get out of mother’s life. Give up that obsession for her. She is happy with Spiro”, he looks in her direction with sad eyes: “I know. I have been observing them all evening. She looks very happy…”. Despite his anger, Leslie can’t help his curiosity: “…Hugh, do you know mother’s cousins Prue and Geoffrey?”, “no, I have only heard about them”, “have you ever been in contact with them or their son Basil, the lawyer? Maybe they wrote to you?”, “no why?”, “just wondering. Goodbye Hugh, never to see you again”, “goodbye Leslie. You won’t. I will leave London and make a new start elsewhere”. So that whole plot was done behind Hugh’s back…

  * Wednesday, August 23rd. In the evening Patience drives Leslie to the license office. She leaves him with the car and goes for a walk. When she returns he is waiting for her in the car, sitting on the driver’s seat. She smiles: “I gather you have passed your test, congratulations!”, he makes a very happy smile: “I have! And they gave me a temporary driver’s license. So I can drive us back home”, she smiles and climbs in the passenger seat: “as you wish, Leslie, let’s go, then!”

  * Saturday, August 26th. They are all at Patience’s house, including Mihalis and Katherini: “bampaka, what are we going to do today?”, he makes a sweet smile: “we are going to have lots of fun, koukla”, Louisa looks puzzled: “how?”, he smiles: “we need to go shopping for the new houses. I want to have all of the material we need for repairs, so that as soon as we can get in, we can drive to Bournemouth and prepare the houses for our move”, she smiles: “you did write a fairly long list when we went to look at them”, “it’s a long list, but they are all relatively minor jobs. We need to replace and re-stain a few floor wood boards, two taps, a few door hinges and handles, and several nails on the ceiling molding”, Louisa looks pleased: “nothing bigger than that?”, he smiles: “well, I think the kitchens in both houses can use some refinishing”, Louisa and the countess look intrigued now, he smiles: “yes, I thought you’d agree, ladies. We can repaint the cabinets any color you wish. It won’t take too long. I can take the doors down to make it easier”, Louisa smiles happily: “oh, that would be so nice! We could apply a lighter color paint than is there now”, the countess looks happy too: “I agree, even in our house I thought the kitchen looked a bit gloomy with those dark brown cabinets”, Spiros smiles at Dennis: “told you they’d agree…”, Louisa smiles: “you are really good at handyman jobs, love. And at picturing things in your mind”, Katherini shouts: “the best handyman in the whole world!”, he laughs, picks her up and tickles her. As the girl giggles, he kisses her belly: “I think you have been pulling my leg, koukla, with those ‘the best in the whole world’ comments”, he continues tickling her. She keeps giggling.
  * Then he turns towards Louisa and the countess: “since I am the best handyman in the world, I’d be happy to refinish also the bathrooms. Those cabinet can use a new coat of paint too”, Louisa makes a happy smile: “that would be wonderful, love. You truly are the best”, he smiles: “you usually reprimand me for being smug, love. Today you are being such a flatterer… only because it suits you now…”, she giggles. Dennis chuckles: “we should probably repaint all walls too. It will give the houses a nice clean look and it’s much easier to do that before moving in”, the countess smiles: “excellent idea, love, but the list of jobs is increasing by the minute. We will need help if we want them to be completed in a timely fashion”. Katherini jumps up from her seat: “I can help!!”, the countess smiles at her very sweetly: “thank you koukla*, then I am sure everything will get done very quickly”. Leslie smiles: “I am happy to help too”, Gerry nods: “me too”, Louisa smiles: “thanks for offering, darlings”, then she makes a smirk: “I would have ‘volunteered’ your help anyway, but it’s nicer this way …”. Gerry and Leslie smirk. They knew it. Spiros laughs loudly then he gets up: “let’s all go to the shops and purchase what we need”, then he winks at Dennis: “the choice of the paint colors may take a while…”.

(*trnsl: koukla = doll)

  * At the paint shop. Louisa and the countess are looking at various paint color samples. Louisa is holding a few: “if we choose this for the kitchen cabinets, then this would be nice on the walls”, the countess nods: “yes, and it will go well with the existing backsplash”, “how about these other colors?”, “they’d look good too. It’s also a good combination, just different”. Louisa turns towards Spiros: “love, which combination of colors do you prefer?”, he approaches them, wraps her in his arms and gives her a kiss: “my most preferred combination of everything is in my arms right now”, she smiles sweetly: “that was very romantic, love, but not very helpful”, he laughs, turns towards the paint color samples Louisa is holding and looks at them carefully. Then he points at one: “this one. I think it will give an overall nice look to the kitchen and will look really good next to your marvelous blue eyes”, she laughs sweetly: “hopelessly romantic…”, they kiss.
  * Two hours later, Dennis and Spiros approach Louisa and the countess who are still going over the paint color samples. Spiros inquires: “all decided?”, Louisa replies: “mostly. I’d just like your opinion on these options, for our bedroom”, he looks at the colors she has picked: “they are very similar!”, she laughs: “similar, maybe, but different enough that I can’t make up my mind. Help, please, love…”, she makes sweet eyes she knows he can’t resist. He gives her a soft kiss and laughs: “somehow I feel I am being manipulated, right now”, she giggles: “maybe… just a bit…”, they laugh and kiss again, then he looks at the color samples: “I like this”, she smiles: “any reasons?”, “yes, it will make it easier to match the furniture. Almost any color will go well with this”, she smiles: “you are so right, let’s choose this, then. And these for the children and the guest bedrooms. For the same reason. It will make it easier to match the furniture”.

  * Friday, 1st Sept, 1939. Early evening, Louisa smiles: “bye everyone, we are off on our date!”, Spiros smiles too: “bye!”, Patience asks: “where to this month? Another surprise?”, Spiros laughs: “not this time”, she smiles: “we are walking to the pub down the road, for true British fare”, he laughs: “hence the really early dinner time. Very British”, Patience chuckles: “yes, going for dinner at 4:30PM is very common here”, Spiros makes a happy smile: “and the time has come that I finally try these famous mushy peas”, Patience laughs: “if you have never tried them, you may be in for a surprise….”, Louisa laughs too: “yea, quite the surprise…”, Spiros looks puzzled. He grabs her hand and gently pulls her towards him. He gives her a soft kiss: “let’s go and try them, then, my love”. They leave the house, walking hand in hand, talking and smiling at each other sweetly. They stop for a quick kiss before resuming walking, his arm around her shoulder, hers behind the small of his back. Leslie is watching out of the window, smiling: “they may eat British food at British time, but they have not adopted the restrained British mannerisms”, Patience is looking too: “and that is a good thing… they look so happy…”, Sarah nods. Leslie smiles sweetly: “they are…”, Patience smiles: “well, let’s put together some dinner for the rest of us, now”.
  * After dinner, Louisa and Spiros return early from their date and join the others who are sitting in the living room, reading, knitting, and/or writing letters. They sit next to each other and coo tenderly on the sofa, his arm around her shoulders. “I liked mushy peas, they go very well with fish and chips…”, she smiles surprised: “really?!?”, he whispers in her ear: “really… I liked the sweetness, even though they are not as sweet as you…”, she giggles quietly and whispers: “flatterer…”, they exchange a long love kiss. As always, their tender interactions are contagious. The countess and Dennis also look very cuddly this evening, exchanging soft loving kisses, their fingers intertwined on the sofa between them. Everybody looks happy and relaxed. At 6pm Spiros gets up and turns on the radio: “the BBC news should be on”, the voice of the announcer sounds worried: “early this morning Hitler’s Germany has begun the invasion of Poland by land, sea, and air. The Luftwaffe has been launching air attacks onto a number of military targets. Various cities are being bombed too. Several civilian casualties are being reported. The Poles are valiantly fighting back, but the Germans are making progress. France is mobilizing troops along their border with Germany and air bombers to send in support of Poland”, Spiros comments: “of course Paris has to intervene. If nobody stops Hitler, France will be next”, the countess groans: “mon Dieu… encore…”, Dennis puts his arms around her and holds her tightly: “Je suis vraiment désolé, mon amour”, she cries softly on his chest. They all look really worried now. Louisa has paled: “a war is coming…”.

(trnsl: my God… again…; I am really sorry, my love) 

  * The announcer continues: “British Prime Minister, The Right Honourable Neville Chamberlain’s has declared general mobilization. All men between the age of 18 and 41 must register for service”, Louisa lets out a sigh of relief. Spiros looks at her sweetly. He knows why. He is too old, Gerry is too young, and Leslie has been exonerated from active duty for medical reasons. The announcer continues: “anti-air strike blackout regulations are to be implemented immediately. All windows and doors must be light proofed at night. The government has ensured that the necessary material, black curtains, cardboard, and paint is available throughout the country. Automobile head lights must be covered too, with slotted black covers that reduce and deflect light downwards. Traffic lights will be similarly covered and all external lights will be turned off during the night. Essential street lights will be dimmed and fitted with light-deflecting covers. We caution the population to be particularly aware that the reduced or absent night illumination may make our roads less safe than usual”. The announcer continues with the daily news. In the end, he concludes: “and a reminder that you should locate the nearest air raid shelters. The government has sent maps to all households earlier this month”. The news ends. They are all very sad and sit around the radio quietly for several minutes. Then Patience whispers: “we should pull all curtains shut”, Sarah nods: “but they are not light proof”, Spiros adds: “we will take care of that first thing tomorrow”.

  * Saturday, Sept 2nd, 1939. Early morning, after breakfast. Spiros takes Louisa’s hand and they walk outside. He drives to their bank first. They walk to the cashier: “we need 2 pounds”, then they drive to a curtain shop. Louisa looks at him: “I have counted them. Patience’s house has 8 regular size windows, a very wide window in the living room and a small and long slit in the front door”, he smiles: “yes, that’s what I have counted too”, then he pulls out a small notebook: “and these are the sizes”, they buy blackout curtains, then they drive to a hardware shop, Spiros approaches the shop assistant: “we need several long screws, blackout curtain holders, and covers for the automobile’s head lights”. They load their purchases in the car and drive back home. Patience is grateful: “oh, thank you so much for doing that!”, Spiros smiles: “of course…”, then he grabs the tool boxes from the storage room, and the ladder. Then, with Louisa’s help he installs the curtains to all of the windows around the house. Along the edges of all windows he also installs cardboard, to prevent light leakage. A few hours later they are done, Patience is talking to Sarah: “as of tonight we will have to always close these carefully before we turn on any lights”, Spiros nods: “we also bought several oil lamps and a large tin of burning oil, in case electricity fails”, Louisa makes a sad smile: “just like Corfu…”, they both look sad, reminiscing of Corfu. They hug…
  * That evening the news is even more worrisome: “the governments of England and France have issued a joint ultimatum to Nazi Germany. All troops must be evacuated from the Polish territory at once”, Louisa pales: “what if they don’t?”, Leslie answers with sad voice: “England will be at war…”, they all sit quietly, very worried.

  * Sept 3rd, 1939. Sunday. They all sleep in and meet up for a late breakfast. Patience and Sarah walk into the dining room and find that Gerry has made Indian breakfast for all, Sarah smiles: “this is excellent, Gerry, thanks for making it!”, Gerry smiles: “it’s Leslie’ favorite so I thought we could spoil him on his 21st birthday”, Patience looks surprised: “oh, I did not realize it was your birthday, Leslie!”, she gets up and hugs him: “many happy returns!”, the countess joins in: “yes, happy birthday, Leslie!”, Leslie smiles: “thank you! You should wish happy birthday even to Spiro”, Patience looks surprised: “the two of you have your birthdays on the same day?”, Leslie nods: “yea, we learned it after Spiro moved in with us last year”, Gerry smiles: “we all went to lake Antiniotissa for a picnic. That was fun”, Patience remarks: “oh, we should do something fun even this year!”, Leslie smiles: “we can talk about it when those two lovebirds finally show up for breakfast”, Gerry smirks: “they are late. They must have begun birthday celebrations upstairs…”, Leslie giggles: “celebrations in the bed…”, the countess and Dennis smile at each other with knowing expressions. Sarah looks very scandalized: “boys! Don’t talk about your mother like that!”, Gerry looks contrite: “sorry…”, Leslie smirks: “we may not talk about it, but we still know why they are so late, it’s almost 10:30…”, Gerry giggles. Patience rolls her eyes.
  * In that moment Louisa and Spiros walk in, holding hands. They all greet them: “happy birthday Spiro!”, he makes a big smile: “thank you all!”, Gerry smiles: “yea, happy birthday and good morning, lovebirds! Indian food is on the cooker, please help yourself!”, Spiros smiles: “thank you! And happy birthday to you, Larry!”, Louisa hugs him: “happy 21st birthday, darling!”, then she and Spiros fill their plates and eat their breakfast eagerly. Sarah comments: “it seems you enjoy Indian food, Spiro”, he makes a sweet smile: “I do! Thanks to Louisa and her children I have come to really like it. How about you, great-aunt Sarah, do you like Indian food?”, she smiles: “very much. There are several things I miss from our life in India. The marvelous food is one of them”, Louisa smiles: “the warmth of the people is another…”, Patience smirks: “the truly oppressive heath is not…”, Leslie adds: “neither are the monsoon rains”. Louisa smiles: “so true! Instead, the climate at high altitude (almost 2,000m, 6,500 ft) in the state of Himachal Pradesh was lovely”, Leslie makes a sad smile: “it was… but I hate that state…”, he doesn’t finish his sentence. He becomes very sad and a tear rolls down his cheek. Louisa reaches for his hand: “I know…”, mother and son hug. The others remain quiet. They know, Dalhousie in Himachal Pradesh is where Lawrence Samuel Durrell died in 1928, when Leslie wasn’t even 10 yet. Louisa and Leslie are still hugging. She murmurs: “he’d be so proud of you, darling, and he’d be celebrating your birthday today. Your dad knew how to throw a party…”, Spiros makes a very sweet smile: “I can’t return him to you and I can’t be him, but let’s celebrate your birthday the way your father would, Leslie”, he lifts his head up, looks at him, and makes a sweet smile: “yes, let’s do that, Spiro, celebrate _both_ of our birthdays”.
  * Patience proposes: “why don’t we all go for dinner to a nice Indian restaurant?”, Leslie smiles: “I really like that idea!”, Louisa replies: “the restaurant on Drummond street was really very good. Very authentic”, Spiros smiles: “let’s go back there, then”. Patience is looking in the phone book. I have found it. We should ring and make a reservation, especially if we are many people”, Louisa turns towards the countess and Dennis: “care to join us?”, the countess replies: “oh, I don’t know, this is a family celebration…”, Leslie smiles: “and you are part of our family countess!”, she seems moved, looks at Dennis who nods, then: “fine, then, we will go with you”, Leslie smiles: “excellent!”, then he turns to Spiros: “and your children, of course. They should celebrate their bampa’s birthday too”, he smiles: “yes, their greying old father”, Louisa smacks his arm: “old? You?!?”, he smiles, looking at her lovingly: “not all of us manage to always look so young and beautiful, my love”, she laughs: “as charming as that may sound, I do know how untrue it is, my liar”, he wraps her in his arms and gives her a long kiss: “I meant every word, my love, young, beautiful, very sexy…”, he kisses her neck, sucking intensely, leaving a clearly visible hickey: “mmm and very tasty…”. Louisa blushes, slaps his arm, and screams: “Spiro!”, he giggles: “better than any Indian curry…”, her children laugh and make funny faces at Patience and Sarah with knowing smiles. Patience looks uncertain. Sarah looks very scandalized. The countess and Dennis laugh. Louisa is looking very embarrassed. Spiros notices that. He leans towards her: “sorry love…”, then he gives her another loving kiss...
  * Patience smiles and steers the conversation to safer topics: “we should invite even Prudence”, Louisa smiles: “and Christos and Dimitra. It’s not nice to leave them out”, Spiros smiles at her sweetly: “thank you love, the children will be happy to have their mother along”, she smiles: “of course!”, Patience is counting on her fingers: “it’s 13 people then”, she picks up the telephone and makes a reservation for 4pm.

  * Then they all move to the living room. It’s shortly after 11am. Sarah proposes: “let’s listen to the classical music program on the BBC”, she turns on the wireless and the broadcaster of the BBC radio, Alvar Lidell, announces: “_At 11.15, that is, in about two minutes, the Prime Minister will broadcast to the nation. Please stand by_.” They all sit down, listening carefully now. Two minutes later, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain’s proclamation begins: “_This morning the British ambassador in Berlin handed the German government a final note stating that unless we heard from them by 11 o'clock that they were prepared at once to withdraw their troops from Poland, a state of war would exist between us. I have to tell you now that no such undertaking has been received, and that consequently this country is at war with Germany. You can imagine what a bitter blow it is to me that all my long struggle to win peace has failed. Hitler’s actions, show convincingly that there is no chance of expecting that this man will ever give up his practice of using force to gain his will. He can only be stopped by force. We have a clear conscience, we have done all that any country could do to establish peace. But the situation in which no word given by Germany's ruler could be trusted, and no people or country could feel itself safe, had become intolerable. And now that we have resolved to finish it, I know that you will all play your part with calmness and courage_”.
  * Louisa brings her hands to her face: “oh my God…”, they all sit quietly for several minutes...
  * Suddenly, there is the sound of very loud sirens. Patience gets up, looking very pale: “it’s like during the Great War. We must go to the nearest air shelter”, she reaches for her mother’s hand. Sarah is weeping: “oh my God, not again…”, Patience helps her up and hugs her, then she turns towards the others: “there are two communal bomb shelters near here. One is between this house and Prudence’s. We should go there”. She picks up the phone and calls Prudence. Then she turns to the others: “we will meet up with the rest of the family at the shelter”, they have all got up at that point. Louisa nods: “let’s grab our handbags, coats, and blankets”, Patience agrees: “and some snacks. We don’t know how long we will be there”, Louisa is crying softly. Spiros hugs her. They stand in each other’s arms for a few minutes. Leslie is looking sad: “let’s go…”. They all walk to the shelter where they find Prudence, Dimitra, Christos, Katherini, and Mihalis. They all stand in line, waiting to get underground. Katherini asks: “why are we here?”, Spiros picks her up: “we need to hide in case the German air bombers attack us, koukla mou”, she makes a surprised face: “why would they do that?”, he smiles sweetly: “because we are at war with them”, Louisa smiles sweetly: “whenever we hear the sirens we must go to a shelter. Remember that, children. Even if in that moment you are alone, if you hear the sirens you always go to the shelter”. Dimitra is holding Mihalis near her. She nods, looking very tense. Christos puts his arm around her shoulders.
  * The shelter is from the Great War and it has just been refurbished. There are electric lights, an air vent, and two long benches, on the sides of a long underground tunnel. They all sit down and wait, making small talk with the other people. Katherini is her usual chatty self: “we all came here from Corfu”, a nice lady smiles at her sweetly: “so you are Greek, then! How long have you been here, darling?”, she is not sure so she turns towards the others. Louisa smiles: “one and a half months”, Katherini continues: “it was a very looong trip with a biiiig ship”, the woman smiles: “oh, I hope there was a playground for the children on board”, Katherini makes a sad smile: “there wasn’t, but there is a _fantastic_ one near Prudence’s house. My daddy says he will make me swings like those when we go back to Corfu”, she takes Spiros’ hand: “he is the best taxi driver in the whole world”, he laughs shyly: “don’t exaggerate, koukla mou”, the nice lady smiles again: “oh, if you say that your dad is the best taxi driver in the world, I believe you”, Katherini turns towards Spiros with a big happy smile: “see?!?!?”, he laughs. Louisa laughs too: “don’t say that, Katherini, we will never hear the end of it…”, Spiros makes a pouting face: “really?’, she smiles at him sweetly: “yes, really, my dear smug husband”, they both laugh. The nice lady smiles at Katherini again: “it seems your mom and dad disagree on his placement in the world ranking of best taxi drivers”, they all laugh. Katherini smiles: “Louisa is not my mom”, then she points at Dimitra, sitting across from them, near Christos who is holding her hand in her lap: “that is my mom!”, Dimitra smiles: “hello!”, the nice lady seems confused now. Katherini adds: “Louisa is my dad’s wife”, Dimitra explains: “Spiros and I are divorced”, Spiros adds: “and we are both remarried”, the nice lady looks perplexed, makes a tight smile then: “oh, that’s very uncommon”, Spiros smiles: “uncommon maybe, but it’s working out well for us and our children”. They all nod. Then they are quiet for a while.
  * Louisa smiles sweetly: “come children, you should wear these. It is chilly in here”, she hands them their coats and helps them put them on. She is buttoning Katherini up, Dimitra smiles: “thank you, Louisa”, she smiles: “of course!”. Dimitra hands Katherini her colored pencils and coloring book. The girl sits on the ground, puts her book on the bench, and begins coloring. The nice lady comments: “you are really good at it, Katherini, the best coloring job in the whole world”, she chuckles: “that’s an exaggeration!”, the lady laughs. Louisa laughs too: “just like when you claim your dad is the best taxi driver in the world…”, Katherini laughs: “I know, but it does sound good when I say it”, Spiros makes a funny face: “what do you mean with ‘I know’?”, she makes a funny know-all face: “bampaka, there are millions and millions and millions of taxi drivers in the world. How can I _truly_ know that you are the best?”, Louisa chuckles, nudging Spiros: “such a bright girl…”, he makes a pouting face: “you girls are conspiring against me…”, Louisa looks at him sweetly and gives him a quick kiss: “maybe…”, Dimitra laughs and so does the nice lady.

  * Two hours later a second set of sirens goes off. Patience gets up: “we can go back home, finally”. At home, Patience remarks: “it’s just after 2pm, plenty of time to get ready and go to the restaurant”, the others seem surprised and perplexed, she smiles: “I don’t see why we shouldn’t celebrate your birthdays. Sulking at home would do no good anyway”. Surprisingly, Sarah nods then she speaks her usual grumpy way: “there is nothing we can do to make things easier. We might as well continue with our plans. If I have to die under the bombs I might as well have my stomach full of Indian food”, Spiros smiles: “you are correct, ladies. That’s the best philosophy. We cannot change the course of history but we can try and ride it as best as we can”, then he grabs Louisa’s hand: “let’s go upstairs and change for dinner, love” she follows him willingly. Gerry smirks at Leslie: “already? There’s plenty of time…”, they giggle. Sarah looks at them with stern eyes, but says nothing.
  * Upstairs, Louisa is choosing a dress in their wardrobe. Spiros approaches her from behind: “let me help, love. He unbuttons the dress she is wearing and removes it form her. Then he hugs her tightly, kissing her neck. She leans back into him and makes a soft moan. He pulls her undergown up and removes it. Then he removes her bra and wraps his arms around her, hugging her tightly and cupping her breasts. She moans. He gently squeezes her nipples, mumbling in her neck: “I love it when these harden for me like this”, she is moaning softly. She pushes herself back into him, then giggles: “speaking or hardening…”, he rubs his erection against her buttocks and moans too: “I just can’t resist your beauty, my love”. As he continues rubbing himself against her, he pushes her knickers down her legs, and reaches for her sex. He begins rubbing gently over her clitoris. Her moans increase. He turns her around and quiets her with a deep kiss, while continuing with his sensual touches. She undoes his buttons and pushes his suspenders and shirt back. Then she lays soft kisses and caresses on his chest. She sucks on his nipples, until they harden into her lips. He is moaning too now. He pushes his fingers into her and begins moving them the way he knows she likes, while continuing touching her love button with his thumb. Her moans grow. She undoes the buttons of his trousers and underwear and pushes them down. She reaches for his erection and gently massages him up and down. They are both moaning extensively now. He continues moving his fingers in her and stroking her clitoris. He can see her pleasure growing. Her legs begin to give way. He leans her onto the bed and continues stimulating her with his fingers, until he feels her tightening suddenly. A deep groan escapes her lips as she climaxes. He gives her a long kiss while she comes down from her high. Then they lay on the bed quietly while she catches her breath.
  * Then she lifts herself up on her elbows and gives him a tender kiss: “your turn, birthday boy”, he smiles naughtily: “mmm, I like it when you say that, especially when it is multiple times in a day”, she giggles and murmurs: “close your eyes, my love”, then she pushes him back and begins kissing his body while delivering very light touches and strokes with her nails. He begins shivering. She turns around, bends down, and takes him into her mouth, with soft licks and kisses on his tip that become increasingly deeper and stronger sucks. He is panting heavily now. He picks her up and puts her in a 69 position. He begins licking and sucking her. She moans and that makes her suck on him even deeper and stronger. His pants increase, until he suddenly takes her head to move it away. For the first time she doesn’t. She holds her position. He groans: “Louisa, I can’t…”, she keeps sucking on him until he begins spilling into her mouth. She takes long swallowing gulps that continue stimulating him as he keeps spilling, prolonging his pleasure, until he is done and lays limp into the bed. Then she moves up and lays next to him, giving him soft loving kisses.
  * He opens his eyes, still in a daze: “that was…. that was…”, she smiles sweetly: “happy birthday, my love”, he seems embarrassed: “you didn’t have to do that…”, she gives him a loving kiss: “but I wanted to, my love”, he looks at her lovingly: “did it taste bad?”, “not really, salty and a bit acidic”, she smiles sweetly at him: “would you like to try it?”, he seems intrigued: “how?”, “I can still taste it in my mouth…”, he gently pulls her towards him and gives her a long kiss, reaching deep into her mouth with his tongue. They both moan, then he pulls out and smiles sweetly: “yes, salty, but also a bit sweet”, she smiles: “yes, exactly. Not bad, really”, then she winks: “since it seems it was very appreciated, I can do it again…”. He looks at her very lovingly: “you taste better, though, sweeter…”, she giggles: “so you always say”, he kisses her again: “you must have tasted it yourself”, she nods, smiling sweetly: “many times, on your lips…”, he smiles: “let’s do another tasting tour, then. Those are never enough”, she giggles, he begins caressing all along her body, giving her small sucking kisses. She moans. He gets down to her sex and begins licking and sucking her clitoris. She moans more deeply. He shifts down to licking her sex, outside at first, then deeper and deeper into her. She begins panting while her hips thrust up towards his mouth with each stimulation. Her moans and pants become really deep.
  * She puts her hands around his head and pulls him up, towards her. She kisses him deeply: “you are right, I am sweeter than you”, he smiles lovingly: “always…”, she giggles: “I will remind you of that statement”, he giggles too: “is that so, my beloved wife?”, she kisses him again, pulling him into her, she moans: “well, I may forget it, depending upon what happens in the next few minutes”, she moans as he pushes deep into her: “challenge accepted, my love, brace yourself for the ride”, she giggles, he begins making love to her. Very slowly and gently at first, almost completely exiting her, then re-entering her, deeply, many times, each time with a slightly different angle that stimulates her in different spots. She responds to some thrusts more than others. He makes sure he repeats those more sensitive entries several times, until she wraps her legs around his back moaning very intensely. He begins thrusting more deeply and more frequently. Her breathing becomes shorter, her moans deeper, until he reaches down with his fingers and massages her clitoris. He whispers: “let go, my love”, she suddenly reaches her climax with very deep sighs. She almost screams. Good thing he silences her with a deep kiss. As she rides her high he gives a few more thrusts and spills into her. They cling onto each other while they come down from their highs together, completely satisfied.
  * Then they lay on the bed, hugging lovingly. She opens her eyes: “when I think it can’t get any better with you my love…”, he smiles sweetly: “perfect each and every time”, she kisses him tenderly: “yes, perfect…”, he makes a mischievous smile: “so I am not smug this time?” she giggles: “you are, but for good reason…”, he kisses her and giggles too: “all well documented reasons”, she keeps giggling, reaching down for his sex: “always solidly supported…”, he laughs and moans as she continues touching him, “my love, if you continue that, the supporting evidence will be more and more solid”, she continues moving her hand up and down on him, applying a gentle squeeze: “is that so, my birthday boy?”, he is moving his hips synchronously with her hand, enhancing his sensations, he moans: “gosh, Louisa… I can’t…”, she giggles: “you can’t what…?”, he grabs her gently and pulls her onto him. He has her sit on his hard erection, entering her again. She makes a deep moan. He sits up and wraps his arms around her, thrusting into her: “see what you have done, my love?”, she makes rotating and forward movements on him: “mmm, providing more solid evidence…”, he gives a deep push up into her: “very supportive…”, she moans and whispers: “oh yes… it is… very…”, she begins riding him as he keeps thrusting into her synchronously with her movements. They stop talking now, their pants and moans becoming deeper and deeper, until she comes again, reaching into his mouth for a very deep kiss. He comes too, at the same time, with a powerful grunt that dies in her mouth.
  * Then they cuddle on the bed several minutes, spent and content. After a while he looks at his wrist watch: “it’s 3:20. We should get ready for our Indian dinner, my love”, she lifts her head up: “I had forgotten about it!”, he makes a naughty smile: “that good eh?!?!”, she giggles and gives him a loving kiss: “it must have been… let’s get ready now, love, I want to take a quick bath. For some reasons, I need one…”, he giggles: “very solid reasons… I should join you. I need a bath too”, she laughs: “just a bath, love, we are late”, he laughs too: “of course, what else are you thinking, my naughty wife?”, she laughs, gets up and wears her robe. Spiros wears his robe too, then they go to the bathroom together. She runs water in the bathtub. Gerry and Leslie are walking upstairs to get themselves ready for the evening. They have seen their mother and Spiros enter the bathroom together. They hear the water running and smirk at each other. Gerry remarks: “if that’s extra-long we will be late at the restaurant”, Leslie laughs: “who is going to explain it to great-aunt Sarah?”, Gerry laughs too: “by now she needs no explanations…”, they giggle as they enter their bedroom.

  * Half an hour later, they convene downstairs. Prudence, Dimitra, Christos, Mihalis, and Katherini are there too. The last to join the group are Louisa and Spiros, a few minutes late, Louisa mumbles: “sorry…”. Her children smirk. She gives them a nasty look. They laugh naughtily. She blushes. Then they take the three cars and go to the Indian restaurant on Drummond street. They all enjoy their meal. Patience is happy: “you were correct, dears, this food is excellent”, Spiros chuckles: “you should thank the man at the newsagent’s near your house. He has recommended it”, she smiles: “I will! In all of these years I have never thought of asking him for advice on Indian restaurants. Yet, we have chatted in Hindi many times. Now that you have done it, Spiro, it makes so much sense that I wonder why I did not think of it”, Louisa chuckles: “well, it speaks to Spiro’s life priorities. Food is very high up there”, he laughs: “it sure is, but you are much, much higher, my love”, she smiles sweetly and gives him a loving kiss: “always so romantic…”, he makes a naughty smile and leans towards her neck again. This time she anticipates him and speaks with firm voice: “don’t you dare, Spiro… behave yourself!”, he makes a mischievous smirk: “I was going to…”, she looks at him sternly: “don’t…”, he smiles sweetly: “fine, fine…”, and he looks the other way. He meets the teasing looks of her children. He winks at them, then he suddenly turns towards Louisa, and kisses and sucks her neck, catching her by surprise: “…and you taste much better than any food, my love”, she blushes violently: “Spiro!!”. There is a big laugh.
  * Louisa doesn’t laugh, though. She forces a smile but she is clearly upset. Spiros notices that. He reaches for her cheek, strokes her gently, then speaks with soft contrite voice: “I am sorry, love…”, she makes a tight smile: “don’t worry it’s nothing, really”, she is trying to avoid spoiling the mood of the evening. She is not successful though. She is noticeably upset and she can’t hide it. He keeps caressing her cheek: “my love, I am so sorry, I got carried away with the joke. You said no. I should have stopped. You know that I’d never…”, he looks really sad now. She smiles softly, and looks at him with loving eyes: “I know, love, I know”, she gives him a tender kiss. He returns it happily. Leslie tries to break the tension: “come on, mother, it was just a joke…”, Spiros sounds serious now: “it doesn’t matter, Leslie. If a woman says no you must respect it. Always. I have made a big mistake”, then he turns towards Louisa: “and I am truly sorry, love”, she smiles sweetly: “it’s all good, love. I know you did not mean to be disrespectful. I know you’d never… intentionally…”, they kiss again. Leslie, Gerry, Mihalis, and Katherini are watching, learning an important lesson. Leslie smiles: “the joke was funny, though”, Louisa smiles: “it was”, Spiros is looking sad again: “it’s the action that wasn’t…”. She strokes his cheek: “it’s fine, love. I know you did not mean it… we all make mistakes… I appreciate you conceding it…”, they kiss again.

  * For the rest of their dinner they all do their best to enjoy their time together, enjoying their food, chatting happily around the large table that has been set up for them, to celebrate the two birthdays and not think about the war…
  * When they get back it’s approaching 6:00pm. Spiros walks to the radio and turns it on: “let’s see what the developments are”. The announcer is talking: “…this morning at 11:15 our Prime minister declared war to Germany, two days after the invasion of Poland by Germany. A few hours later, France, New Zealand, Australia, and India have also declared war to Germany”. At 6pm, King George VI makes an announcement on the BBC news: “_in this grave hour, perhaps the most fateful in our history, for the second time in the lives of most of us we are at war. Over and over again we have tried to find a peaceful way out of the differences between ourselves and those who are now our enemies. But it has been in vain……… The task will be hard. There may be dark days ahead, and war can no longer be confined to the battlefield, but we can only do the right as we see the right, and reverently commit our cause to God. If one and all we keep resolutely faithful to it, ready for whatever service or sacrifice it may demand, then with God’s help, we shall prevail. May He bless and keep us all_”, then the announcer goes on to explain: “The already enforced nighttime blackout shall remain in place indefinitely. Restrictions on petrol use for private automobiles are effective immediately. Time stamped coupons will be distributed upon request, for limited petrol amounts. Food rationing is being considered, but is not implemented at this point, while the government is evaluating the potential for food import from allied countries”.

  * The next day, Monday September 4, Louisa and Spiros report to work as usual. As they enter the school, the headmaster approaches them: “I am happy to see you here. Several parents have decided to keep their children at home and some of the teachers have not come to work because of the war news. I have combined classes with a small number of children. Still, we have several classes uncovered. You should take one each and if other teachers also do not report to work today, I’d be very grateful if you could stay even this afternoon”, Spiros nods: “yes, of course, happy to help”, the headmaster smiles: “thank you, this war is making everything difficult…”, Louisa makes a sad smile: “indeed…”, Spiros looks at her sweetly and lifts his hand to caress her cheek. Then he drops his hand and turns to the headmaster: “sorry…”, she smiles: “not at all…”.
  * That evening the radio has more worrisome news: “the British passenger liner SS Athenia, traveling from Glasgow, Scotland to Montreal, Canada, has been torpedoed by a German submarine yesterday. All 112 passengers and crew members are believed deceased. Today, the Royal Air Forces have begun attacks on German war ships in the Heligoland Bight. Wartime blackout shall be enforced strictly. We advise avoiding unnecessary nighttime outing and driving, due to the increased risk of crimes and automobile incidents”.
  * Friday, September 8, 1939. Spiros leaves the house early in the morning. When he returns home, Louisa is finishing her breakfast at the kitchen table. He gives her a kiss: “even with wartime restrictions, I have managed to purchase a newspaper today. It’s The Telegraph”, Louisa takes it and notices an article: “oh, this will affect us all, especially you, my love”, she reads from the paper: “_petrol ration books are available to-day on application at post offices or local taxation offices, but they cannot be used before Sept. 16 when the rationing system comes into force_”, she looks at Spiros with very sad eyes: “my love, I am so sorry. You won’t be able to do your taxi driver job”, he makes a sad smile: “I will do something else, my love”, he takes her hand in his: “we knew this was coming. We know what wars are like. We should appreciate that we are together and can still live our lives relatively normally”, he reaches for her lips and kisses her lovingly: “we will be fine, my love”, she smiles sweetly and kisses him again. They hug quietly for several minutes. Then they leave the newspaper on the kitchen table for others to read and leave for work.

  * Friday, September 16th. Last day of work at the school for Spiros and Louisa. When they arrive, they are surprised to find the large playing room decorated for a party. Several of the parents are there too. When they walk in they all clap. The children run up to them, circle and hug them: “surprise!!”, the headmaster approaches smiling: “it was the children’s idea. A goodbye party for the two of you”, Louisa and Spiros are moved. Their eyes shining, Louisa smiles: “thank you so much!”, then she turns towards the children: “if I give our new address to you, will you write a postcard once in a while?”, Spiros smiles: “with your names. Now that you all know how to write them”.
  * One of the mothers approaches them: “thank you for being such wonderful teachers. My daughter Alice always talks about you so lovingly”, Spiros smiles: “they are wonderful children. We often talk about them too”, the mother looks surprised: “oh, I did not realize you were not English, Alice has never mentioned it”, he smiles: “the children seem not to mind it”, the mother smiles: “of course they don’t. I am sorry for bringing it up”, she seems embarrassed, Spiros smiles: “not a problem. Noticing foreign accents is normal”, she smiles: “thinking it’s a problem should not be, though. I am truly sorry. My daughter loves you so much. She always talks about you”, in that moment Alice approaches Spiros and takes his hand: “come with me, Spiro!”, he smiles and follows her: “what is it, Alice?”, she takes him to Dan and gives the boy a kiss: “Dan and I are engaged!”, Spiros smiles very sweetly: “congratulations! You have come a long way since the days you were fighting over toys”, the little girl smiles shyly: “now we always play together”, Dan nods: “and I will marry Alice when I grow up”, Spiros smiles sweetly: “excellent plan, Dan. Alice is a very bright and sweet girl”, Dan nods: “we will be happy, like you and Louisa”, Spiros looks towards Louisa who is smiling, listening to the conversation, and makes a sweet smile: “then you will be very happy…”, Louisa looks at Spiros with loving eyes: “yes, very…”. Alice’s mother smiles: “I am so glad to see the children had such a good example of a happy marriage. That can only be a good thing”, Spiros makes one of his big happy smiles: “indeed, _lead by example_ is Louisa’s motto with our children and I can only agree with it…”. The headmaster is listening, smiling.
  * At the end of their work day, the headmaster is waiting for them behind their classroom doors. When they emerge: “could we have a quick chat before you leave?”, Spiros makes one of his big smiles: “of course!”, they walk to her office and sit down: “Mr. and Mrs. Halikiopoulos. I am sad to see you leave and I wish you all the best in your new house”, Louisa smiles: “thank you!”, “this was your first time as preschool teachers, wasn’t it?”, they both nod, “well, you did a wonderful job. Do you plan to continue it?’, Spiros smiles: “yes, I think I’d like to continue being a preschool teacher. I had no idea I’d enjoy it so much”, Louisa nods: “I am not surprised. You are really good with children”, the headmaster smiles: “if you apply for jobs in preschools, feel free to make my name as your reference”, Louisa smiles: “thank you!”, she smiles and hands an envelope to each of them: “I have prepared these letters of reference, for your future employers. I’d also be happy to talk with them on the telephone, if they wish. There are only very positive things I’d say about you”, Spiros makes a big happy smile: “thank you so much, madam, we really appreciate your help”, then they all get up. He bows and kisses the headmaster’s hand. The two women shake hands, then Spiros and Louisa leave. As they walk towards home, he puts his arm around her shoulders. She puts hers around the low of his back. They smile at each other sweetly and exchange a soft kiss. The headmaster is standing in the street, watching them. She smiles sweetly and walks back into the school: “lead by example…”

  * Sunday September 17th, 1939. Afternoon. Spiros, Leslie, Gerry, and Dennis are in the back garden, finishing up a few repair/maintenance jobs at Patience and Sarah’s house. At some point Spiros walks into the house. He finds Patience and Sarah having tea: “where is Louisa?”, Dennis is right behind him: “and my fiancée?”, he says that with a big happy smile. He always does, each time he thinks that his love has agreed to marry him. Patience smiles sweetly: “they are packing suitcases to bring to your new houses tomorrow. I think the countess is upstairs, whereas Louisa went down to the basement to fetch items from the trunks”, Dennis smiles: “thanks!”, then he goes upstairs. Spiros goes to the basement. He finds Louisa with her head inside a large trunk. He approaches her from behind and hugs her. She screams: “aahhh”, she gets up suddenly, hits her head against the lid of the trunk, then turns around, sees Spiros and slaps his arm with all of her strength. Spiros makes a pouting face and rubs his arm: “hey, that was hard!”, she laughs: “you deserved it! You’ve scared me out of my wits!”, he wraps his arms around her and gives her a long kiss: “I prefer the other expression…”, she looks puzzled now, he laughs: “_you’ve scared the pants off me_…. I’d be very happy to help you with that… especially if we replace pants with _knickers_”, she blushes and hits him again, forcefully, on the same arm: “Spiro, stop saying things like that in public!”, he looks around and makes a mischievous smile: “we are alone here, my love”, he gives her a loving kiss. She returns it: “what is that supposed to mean, anyway? I have never heard that idiom. Have you just made it up or translated it from some dirty Greek?”, he laughs: “it was in a play Dimitra and I saw in Chicago I can’t remember the title and the author but I still remember that expression…”, she laughs: “of course you would…”, he laughs too and kisses her again. A long kiss. He parts her lips with his tongue and begins kissing her more sensually. She responds to it, their tongues finding each other. With his arms behind her, he pulls her shirt out of her skirt and begins caressing the skin of her back. She moans. As they keep kissing, he pushes her against one of the trunks, rubbing himself against her. Then he reaches down with his hands and pulls up her skirt. He begins touching her thighs, closer and closer to her core. She begins panting. He moves her knickers and reaches her sex with his fingers. She moans: “love, people may be coming…”, he smiles naughtily: “might that be you, my love? Happy to help you get there…”, he continues stimulating her, touching her clitoris now, she moans deeply, starting to lose control. She murmurs: “Spiro…”, he keeps kissing her deeply, still pushing gently on her clitoris, accelerating his hand movements inside of her. Suddenly he feels her tighten around his fingers, as she rides her orgasm. Then he holds her lovingly as she relaxes. Flopped against him, still panting heavily.
  * In that moment they hear steps. Someone is walking downstairs to the basement. They scurry to the back of the room and hide behind a stack of trunks. She uses a handkerchief to clean the smeared lipstick off her mouth and tries to recompose herself, putting her shirt back into her skirt, catching her breath, and trying to fix her hair. They hear the countess’ voice: “they are not here”, Dennis replies: “this is odd, Patience said Louisa was here and I saw Spiro going downstairs”, in that moment Spiros walks out of their hiding spot behind the trunks: “we are here, trying to remember in which trunk we have put our towels and bed linens”, Louisa walks out too: “but I think these trunks are all yours. We should check those, love. The countess and Dennis approach. They look at them, then they burst into laughter. Spiros and Louisa look at each other with guilty expressions, both blushed. The countess makes a knowing smile: “have you changed your hair style recently, Louisa?”, Dennis smirks: “nice lipstick you are wearing, my friend… it suits you…”, he is pointing at Spiros’ lips. Louisa and Spiros look at each other and start laughing. They all laugh for a while. Then, Louisa cleans the lipstick from Spiros’ lips and the countess helps Louisa fix her hair: “before you go upstairs and your aunts see you, my dear”. Still laughing…
  * Than evening they are all in the living room. Patience turns on the radio: “the BBC news should be on in a few minutes”, they hear the voice of the announcer: “more worrisome news from the continent, today. The Soviet Union has invaded Poland from the east. Meanwhile, the Germans continue their assault from the west”, Spiros remarks: “the Polish army is strong but they can’t succeed against two invasions…”, Leslie sounds upset: “we are officially at war with them. Why don’t we stop them before they invade all of Europe?!?”, Gerry adds: “including Greece…”, Louisa makes a sad smile: “if only it were that simple…”. They all sit quietly. The war news keeps getting worse…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, when last year I made up Sept 3rd to be Leslie's and Spiros' birthday I had no recollection whatsoever that that was the day England declared war to Germany in 1939. That made for some interesting intermixing of fluff with nasty war related news in this chapter. It sure balanced things out. I only hope this mix did not come across as offensive to anyone. I really truly do not mean to trivialize the impact war has on people.
> 
> All war-related texts in italics are the original (1) war declaration by the British Prime minister (including the radio announcer) and (2) king's speech later that day, which is, of course, the basis for the 2010 film with that title, and (3) newspaper article describing the coupons for petrol (gasoline) restrictions for private vehicles.
> 
> A few historical notes:
> 
> I have recently re-read parts of Michael Haag's book I had forgotten about and found out why Leslie and Gerald Durrell were both exonerated from the army for medical reasons. Leslie had a perforated eardrum due to a fight and Gerald had heavy nasal catarrh and chronic sinusitis. So the congenital heart condition I made up for Leslie in chapter 39 is incorrect. Oh well... 😀😉
> 
> They did have air raid sirens go off on the day of the declaration of war in London. Likely a drill, because there were no aerial attacks on London until September 1940, i.e. a year later. 
> 
> And they did declare general mobilization of all men between the age of 18 and 41 on the day Germany invaded Poland.
> 
> And they did issue petrol (gasoline) restrictions on the day England declared war to Germany.
> 
> The black out measures are historical too.
> 
> All war-related facts should be correct. I.e. the invasion of Poland, the ultimatum, the sinking of the passenger ship, etc.


	42. The Durrells/Halikipoulos in Bournemouth – settling in a new life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Settling in Bournemouth  
The first part is about preparing the new house.  
The second part are various snapshots on how each of them settles in, and a few important days/events in 1939.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, in the first part I got carried away. A result of some major home renovations my husband and I did a couple of years ago... 😀  
So, this brings us to the end of 1939.  
The next two (and final) chapters will be set in 1940. Almost two years from when I picked up this story (May 1938). It really is time for me to end it...😀

  * Monday September 18, closing date for their new houses. They have quit their jobs so that they can go to Bournemouth and do renovations. Spiros sounds excited: “let’s load the car! Thanks for saving your petrol coupons for us Patience, so that we’d have enough for this trip”, Patience smiles: “of course, happy to, Spiro”. They load suitcases with a few changes of clothes, towels, sheets, and other basic supplies for their new houses. Then they load the paint cans, the tools, cleaning material, and lots of wood boards in the car, then Spiros and Louisa drive to Bournemouth while the others walk to the station to take the train. When they get there, Louisa and Spiros pick up the keys from James, then they drive to their new house. They park in the driveway and he opens the house door. Then he walks up to Louisa and picks her up. She is surprised and laughs: “what are you doing love?”, he gives her a tender kiss: “carrying my beloved nyfi* through the door of our new home”, she laughs and holds herself onto his neck while he carries her inside the empty house.

(*trnsl: bride)

  * When they get in, he sits her on the kitchen counter and gives her a long kiss. She happily returns it. He puts his hand up under her skirt, she sighs: “love, the others will arrive soon…”, he continues kissing her while stroking her thighs. She moans: “love, behave…”, he looks at his wrist watch: “the train won’t be here for another hour…”, he keeps kissing her, their tongues playing with each other, then he mumbles: “plenty of time to inaugurate our new house”, his hands are now up her thighs, near her sex. Her knickers are wet, he makes a sweet smile: “you seem to like the idea”, she kisses him sensually: “never said I didn’t…”, he makes a naughty smile, pulls her skirt up, and removes her knickers. Then he begins touching her sex, stroking it gently at first, then inserting his fingers. She moans, leaning her head on his shoulder. He continues stimulating her. She reaches down and opens his trousers’ flap. She reaches inside and begins stroking him lightly. He moans deeply: “my love, I so want to make love to you, right now”, she undoes his buttons and drops his trousers and underwear, then she moves close to the edge of the counter, wrapping her legs around his waist. He steps out of his clothes and moves near her. He pushes into her. She moans deeply. He begins moving into her, slowly at first, then more and more urgently. She holds her arms around his neck, leaning her head backwards. He continues until he feels her tighten around him as she reaches her climax with a deep sigh. That brings him to climax too, emptying himself into her. Then they lean their heads onto each other’s shoulders. They remain in that position for several minutes, hugging tenderly. Spiros whispers: “welcome to our new home, my love”, she gives him a tender kiss: “it will be a happy home”, he kisses her too: “always very happy…”. Then he exits her and helps her off the kitchen counter: “good thing we brought these”, he wets a small towel under the faucet, and hands it to her. She cleans herself, then he uses it to clean himself. They wear their clothes. Louisa looks at her wrist watch and gives him a soft kiss: “perfect timing, we should unload the car then drive to the train station to pick up the others”. 

  * That day they make very good progress. They all work together at the two houses to make all repairs in Spiros' list. Then Spiros removes all doors from the kitchen and bathroom’s cabinets. They lay them along the walls, onto several sheets of old newspapers. They sandpaper any rough edges or notches and clean them thoroughly. Then Louisa and the countess begin repainting them. Spiros shows them how to do it: “long strokes with your brushes, in the direction of the wood grain”, Louisa smiles sweetly: “thank you love”, they kiss, then the two women continue with their painting jobs. Spiros leaves the house: “Leslie, mind going with me?”, “of course, Spiro”. Later, they return with more wood, several new tools and an electric circular saw. They set it up in the back garden. Louisa approaches: “what is that for, love?”, he smiles: “my new toy”, she chuckles: “that’s exactly what it looks like!”, he laughs: “I was going to build some furniture. It will save lots of money and we can paint it any colors we like”, she gives him a kiss: “good idea, I know you are good at it. You built many pieces of furniture for our house in Corfu”, he makes a naughty smile, then he wraps his arms around her and whispers in her ear: “I was going to begin with the most important of all… our bed”, she giggles, puts her arms around his neck, and whispers in his ear: “the kitchen counter worked just fine for that…”, he laughs then he gives her a long sensual kiss. She returns it at first, then she opens her eyes. Gerry is in the back garden, checking out the space for his zoo. She blushes and pushes Spiros away: “behave love, minors are here”, Gerry laughs loudly. They both blush…
  * By afternoon, Spiros has finished making the wooden frames for several large beds. One for each of the bedrooms. He has also made two additional smaller frames. Louisa asks: “what are those for?”, he smiles: “they are spare beds, for when we have guests. We can keep them in the storage room and assemble them when we need. It doesn’t take long to put them together”, “excellent idea, love”, he gives her a kiss: “now we need to decide the style of the head and footboards, love”. He takes out a catalogue he has picked up at a furniture shop: “here are several examples”. She looks at them carefully: “I like many of them. Which one do you prefer?”, “why don’t you show me the styles you like the most, then we can choose together from those?”, she points at a few. He looks at them all: “of those, this and this are my favorite”, she smiles sweetly: “let’s go for this, then”, then she goes to Leslie and Gerry: “which bed headboard style would you prefer for your bedrooms?”, they both scoff, Leslie rolls his eyes: “it doesn’t matter, mother, as long as it is a bed”, she makes a knowing smile: “fine, then I will choose the styles with the most frills”, then she walks back to the back garden. The siblings look worried and run after her, Gerry calls: “wait, maybe we should choose ourselves”, she smirks: “I thought so… just let Spiro know your choices”, she leaves the catalogue with them and walks back to the kitchen, to finish painting the cabinets.
  * They break for lunch and sit on the floor. The countess and Dennis sit on a bench Spiros has just built. They eat the sandwiches they have brought from London. Dennis looks satisfied: “we are making very good progress”, Spiros smiles: “what do you think of those bed frames?”, the countess smiles: “they are really well built!”, he smiles: “I’d be happy to make a few more for your house”, Louisa hands the catalogue: “then you can chose the style for the head and footboards from here” She points at the one Spiro has already made: “we chose that for our bedroom”, the countess looks at Spiros: “I am impressed, you are really good, Spiro”, he makes a smug smile: “I know…”, Louisa smacks his arm and makes a stern voice: “Spiro, that was too…”, he stops her with a kiss: “pretentious and bigheaded…”, she laughs: “exactly!”, they all laugh. They kiss again.
  * In the afternoon they continue making progress. Spiros builds bed frames, head, and footboards for the countess and Dennis, then he builds a wardrobe for each of the bedrooms in the two houses. Meanwhile Leslie and Gerry remove old wall paper from the bedrooms. They sand any small imperfections and seal old nail holes. Then they apply a first coat of paint. When they are done, they go to the house next door and help Dennis who is repainting the bedrooms there. Meanwhile, the countess and Louisa finish re-painting the cabinets and doors of the kitchens of both houses.
  * In the evening, they drive to a furniture shop and buy link springs and mattresses for their beds. They will be delivered on Wednesday morning. Then they go to a paint shop to buy stain for the furniture. The countess and Louisa take quite some time, going over the various options, while Spiros is selecting the stain he needs to match the new floor boards to the existing hardwood floors. Louisa asks: “love, how do you like this color for our bedroom’s furniture?”, he goes over: “I love it, it will go really well with the wall paint and I like the reddish undertone in the light brown”, she smiles: “excellent, how many cans do you think we’ll need?”, he counts on his fingers: “well, it will have to be the same color for the wardrobe, nightstands, writing desk, and chairs, so let’s get 4 cans, for each of the bedrooms”, she smiles: “Gerry, Larry, come and chose the color you want for your bedrooms”, they scoff, she smirks: “either that or I’ll pick a bright pink”, they approach, Gerry groans: “yes, mother, yes, we are going to choose one”, the countess laughs: “you’d make a good psychiatrist, my friend”, she laughs: “if you say so, I believe you”, Gerry laughs: “oh, I agree with that too!”, Leslie chuckles: “indeed, Mrs. Manipulator…”, she swats them both, then laughs.
  * When they return to their houses they stain the furniture Spiros has built, then they all go for dinner at the local pub. That night they stay at a small hotel in town so that the next day they can continue with their renovations. On Tuesday, they apply a second coat of paint to all bedroom walls, kitchen cabinets, and furniture. Then they apply a first coat of paint to the walls of the rest of the house. They also repaint the cabinets and doors of the bathrooms. Meanwhile, Spiros builds more furniture, and installs the new floor boards. Louisa walks up to him: “those look really good. The stain matches the existing floors perfectly”, he makes a smug smile: “thank you, love”, she laughs: “bighead… I can never make a compliment..”, he grumbles: “this time I said nothing arrogant!”, she smirks: “but you thought it…”, he laughs: “you can read me so well, my love, that I have no hopes of hiding anything from you”, she laughs: “why would you want to hide things from me?”, he gives her a loving kiss: “never said I wanted to…”, they both laugh and kiss again. A long loving kiss. Then they go back to their renovation jobs. Louisa and the countess apply a first coat of stain to the new furniture while Spiros builds more. Evening, Spiros lets out a satisfied sigh: “excellent, if we apply the sealant to all bed frames and head- and footboards, tomorrow we can assemble the beds, clean the bedrooms and spend our first night in our new houses”, they all smile excitedly.

  * The following day, Wednesday, Gerry and Leslie stay at the houses continuing renovations and waiting for the delivery of the link springs and mattresses. Meanwhile, Louisa, Spiros, the countess, and Dennis drive to a large appliance shop and buy a new cooker for each house. They choose one with a large oven. They also look at refrigerators. The countess looks happy: “electricity truly is a wonderful thing”, Louisa laughs: “yes, there are many things I miss of Corfu, but I can sure enjoy that we can simply plug in a refrigerator here, no more ice delivery”. The shop assistant is listening: “It’s a good time to buy refrigerators. We have just received the latest models, with Freon gas, which makes them much safer than previous units.”. They choose a refrigerator for each house. Louisa and Spiros choose a larger model, to accommodate for their large family. The countess and Dennis choose a smaller unit. Spiros looks happy: “when can you deliver?”, “we have the cookers and this unit in storage. We can deliver them even tomorrow. Instead, the larger refrigerator will take about two weeks. We need to bring it in from our storehouse in London. With war time petrol restrictions, we can’t use our lorry. We need to rent space on the freight trains and there is a waiting list for that”. Louisa looks disappointed. The countess smiles: “not a problem. You can keep your fresh food in our refrigerator until yours arrives”, she smiles: “thank you, doctor!”
  * In that moment, Louisa’s eyes fall on a new type of appliance. She points at it: “what is that? I have never seen it before”, the shop assistant smiles: “it’s called a washing machine. You put your clothes in it, add detergent, push a button, and the clothes come out completely washed, ready to be hung. In these new models there is also a wringing function. It uses centrifuge force. These machines are much better than older models that needed to be operated manually. They are connected to the water pipes and do the filling and emptying automatically.”, Louisa makes a big smile: “oh I LOVE the idea. We spend so many hours doing the laundry now that we don’t have Lugaretzia!”, the countess and Dennis seem very interested too. They all walk towards the washing machine and admire it, in its sleek wooden cabinet, until they see the price, Louisa looks disappointed: “oh, it is so expensive…”, the countess nods: “it is, hard to justify for just two people…”. Dennis and Spiros look at each other and smile, Dennis proposes: “here is an idea, we buy one of these and share it between our two houses”, Spiros nods: “excellent idea, my friend, we can share its cost and use”, Louisa and the countess make happy smiles. Louisa adds: “but we are more people, we’d use it a lot more”, Spiros agrees: “so true, maybe we can split the cost 2/3 on us and 1/3 on you?”, he is looking at Dennis and the countess. The countess smiles: “I don’t mind paying for ½ of it, really”, Louisa replies: “oh, I agree with Spiro, we should pay more than ½. 2/3 seems fair”, Dennis adds: “and it should be in your house where it will be used the most. We can easily bring our laundry there”, Louisa smiles: “we have a large basement, maybe we can set it up there. We can also put in clotheslines”, then she looks towards Spiros: “there must be water pipes in the basement. That’s where the city pipes enter the house and the hot water furnace is located”, he makes one of his smug smiles: “yes, I am sure I can figure it out for the installation”. The shop assistant smiles: “installation is included in the price. Our technician will do it”, Louisa smiles: “let’s buy it then!”, the countess smiles too: “yes!”.
  * After the appliance store, they go to the phone company and arrange for the lines to be activated in their new houses and purchase a telephone each. That will take about a week. As they are leaving the telephone shop, Spiros looks happy: “perfect, that will give me the time to build a new telephone table, with drawers for the phonebooks and writing pads”, Louisa is walking next to him, holding his arm: “excellent, love”, she gives him a soft kiss. He makes a smug smile: “I am spoiling you, love”, she smirks: “and is that a bad thing?”, he makes a naughty smile: “well, not if you spoil me too…”, he stops walking and gives her a long sensual kiss. She blushes: “behave love…”, then she winks: “happy to spoil you later… in our nicely built new bed…”, he laughs then gives her another long kiss: “I will remind you of that promise, my love”, she smiles naughtily: “I sure hope so…”. Meanwhile the countess and Dennis are waiting by the car, smiling…
  * Spiros notices that next to the telephone shop there is a small shop that sells wireless (radios). Instead of going back to the car, he walks in. The others follow. He points at a radio: “how much is that?”, the shop assistant tells them the price of the model he is pointing at as well as several other models. Spiros inquires: “what’s the short-wave receiving range?”, the shop assistant mentions it for the various models. Spiros points at the most expensive of them, with the widest short-wave range: “may I try it?”, the shop assistant replies with an enthusiastic: “yes, of course, you will like it! It picks up short-waves even from transmitters that are far away”, then he sets it up on the counter, plugging the cord in and placing a large antenna on it. Spiros begins turning the tuning knobs and orienting the antenna in various directions, until a Greek voice comes through, fairly clear above the static noise. He makes a big smile, then his eyes fill with tears. Louisa can see that, grabs his hand, and smiles at him sweetly. Then she turns to the shop assistant: “we will buy this model”, Spiros protests: “it’s the most expensive, love”, she smiles at him: “we will be able to listen to the news from Greece, agapi mou, it is worth the price”. The countess looks at Dennis. He also looks moved by the Greek voice, then she turns towards the shop assistant: “we will buy one too”, Dennis smiles at her sweetly: “merci, mon amour…”.

(trnsl: Greek: my love; French: thank you, my love) 

  * Next, they go to a furniture shop and choose sofas and armchairs. Spiros looks contrite: “those I really can’t make properly. I can make the boxes and install the springs, but I can’t upholster correctly. I have tried, but they never looked good”, Louisa smirks: “oh well, nobody is perfect, I guess…”, then she walks towards the shop. He laughs loudly, walks up to her and grabs her hand: “hey, I am building the furniture for the whole house!”, the countess laughs: “two houses, really”, he smirks: “that was very unfair, Louisa”, she giggles: “I know… but true…”, he thinks for a moment: “well, of course I am not perfect, but…”, she laughs: “but?!?”, he laughs too: “but I come pretty close to that!”, she is the one to laugh loudly now. She wraps her arms around his neck and gives him a long kiss: “yes, pretty darn close, just please, don’t tell my husband that’s what I think about him. I’d never hear the end of it…”, he laughs and kisses her too: “I promise, I will keep it to myself”. They keep kissing, for a long time. Meanwhile the countess and Dennis have entered the furniture shop. They realize Spiros and Louisa are not with them. They look back and see them still kissing on the sidewalk. Dennis laughs and walks back outside: “the shop will be closing in one hour, lovers!”, they stop kissing, laugh, and walk in.

  * That evening, they have early dinner at the pub, then they walk back to the houses and give a thorough cleaning to all of the bedrooms. Then they assemble the beds. Leslie helps Dennis and the countess, while Gerry, Spiros, and Louisa work on the beds for their house. They assemble the bed frames, then they install the link springs. Spiros makes a smirk, then takes a bottle of oil and coats all link springs: “so that the squeaky noise does not disrupt our sleep”, he winks at Louisa. Gerry laughs, making a knowing smirk. After Spiros has oiled the link springs in all beds of their house, Gerry grabs the bottle: “I’ll do the link springs even at the countess and Dennis’ house”. While Gerry is next door, Spiros and Louisa place the mattresses on all of the beds. Then, they open the suitcases and unpack them. They make the beds with the sheets and light blankets they have brought and put their change of clothes in the wardrobe. Louisa steps back: “oh, it already feels like home, with our things in it”, he hugs her tightly: “it feels like home because _you_ are in it”, she smile’s sweetly: “my romantic, that is so true. What makes this feel so homey is you, _us_, not the clothes…”, they kiss. A long kiss that becomes more and more sensual. He whispers: “there is something else that will make it feel like home…”, she giggles: “hold your horses, love. Gerry and Leslie will be back shortly”, he makes a pouting face: “fine, I will have to wait then…”, she laughs and gives him another sensual kiss: “not too long, I promise…”, they keep kissing, a long sensual kiss.
  * That night they all go to bed early, tired after the long work day. Spiros takes a quick bath and goes to bed first. He is reading a book, waiting for Louisa. She enters their bedroom, wearing her bathrobe. Her hair is wet from the bath she has just taken. Spiros looks up while she takes her pajamas out of the wardrobe and puts it on a chair. She takes off her bathrobe. She is wearing nothing. Spiros puts his book down and makes a mischievous smile: “you may want to hold off putting on your pajamas, my love”, he walks up to her, wraps his arms around her naked body, captures her mouth in his for a long kiss, and begins stroking the naked skin of her back softly. She shivers. He gives her a long kiss: “let’s go under the blankets, before you catch a cold”, he holds the sheets up for her. She lays down and makes a big smile: “oh, this bed feels so comfortable”, he smiles sweetly, removes his pajamas, and joins her in bed: “yes, it’s a good mattress”, she gently moves on it, up and down: “and the springs are well-oiled. Very quiet”, he giggles: “that’s very good news, my sexy beauty”, then he leans her down on her back and begins kissing and caressing her body. She moans: “yes… such good news…”, he is sucking on her nipples gently right now, his hard erection rubbing against her thigh. She reaches for it, wraps her hand around it, and begins moving it slowly, all along its length. He makes a deep moan: “mmm, that soft hand of yours feels sooo good, my love”, she giggles: “not that soft, I am developing callosities with all of the manual works we have been doing”, she continues moving her hand on him, gently rubbing his wet tip with her thumb. Still sucking on her nipples, he moans: “well, those are all in the right places… the effect is quite… ohhh…”, she smiles lovingly and continues stimulating him. He reaches her sex with his hand and begins rubbing over her clitoris. She makes an intense moan. He moves two fingers down and enters her. She continues stroking him. They are both moaning intensely now. Louisa whispers: “your callosities are all in the right places too”, he smiles sweetly, then he moves his fingers the way he knows she likes and rubs on her G spot: “right here?”, she moans more loudly. He quiets her with a loving kiss. She grabs his hips and pulls his body over hers. She helps him into her. He enters slowly. She moans: “welcome in, my love, make yourself at home”, he begins moving on her: “gladly so, my love”. They move together, following a familiar and well synchronized rhythm, until he makes a deep groan and she sighs deeply as they climax together. Then they lay in bed, hugging, both tired. They fall asleep in each other’s arms, still naked. 

  * Over the next several days they stay at their new houses and complete their renovations. They predispose the basement for the installation of the washing machine, install blackout curtains, and continue staining the new furniture that Spiros keeps building. “Love, did you want me to make also a dining set or would you rather buy one?”, she smiles sweetly: “why buy if we have such a great furniture manufacturer?”, he laughs: “I know you are exploiting my smugness right now…”, she giggles, Gerry chuckles: “Mrs. Manipulator indeed…”, Spiros laughs: “I will have to make you pay for it…”, she laughs: “why don’t you tell me how, if you dare?”, he giggles, walks up to her, wraps her in his arms: “you should know better than challenging me like that, my love”, she giggles: “is that so?”, he gives her a long kiss that becomes more and more sensual. She blushes and pushes back, whispering: “behave, love”, he laughs, takes her hand and walks her upstairs. Gerry and Leslie are watching, with naughty smirks. She is badly blushed now, but she follows him. Readily and willingly…
  * Later, they return downstairs. Leslie smirks: “welcome back, lovers. While you were _busy_, we finished applying the second coat of stain to those pieces and the sealant to the others. The most important pieces of furniture are all done, ready for assembly after the sealant is dry”, Louisa smiles happily: “excellent”, Spiros smiles: “now I need to build the dining set, then most furniture is finished. I can make other smaller pieces after we move here, once we see what else we need”, Leslie grabs the car keys: “I am going to buy more screws and nails. We are running low on those”, Spiros asks: “we also need a new blade for the circular saw, mind getting one?”, Leslie smiles: “of course”, Spiros adds: “and sandpaper, lots of it, of all grades”, Leslie turns towards Louisa: “mother, we need more hinges and handles for the cabinets, wardrobes, and a couple of doors in the house. Why don’t you go to the hardware shop with me? I’d rather you chose the style for those”, she smiles: “yes, I’d rather too…”, they laugh, then mother and son leave together.

  * Wednesday September, 27. Dimitra, Christos, Mihalis, Katherini, and James walk in while they are all busy working around the two houses. Louisa is in the kitchen, cleaning up the newly-repainted cabinets Spiros has recently reinstalled. Katherini runs up to Louisa and hugs her: “we are here!”, Louisa picks her up and gives her a kiss: “what a nice surprise, darling, what brings you here?”, Christos smiles: “it seems James has found us a rental right around the corner from you”, Katherini interrupts: “where is my bampaka?”, Louisa puts her down and smiles: “I think he may be in the back garden, building a new dining set”, she points at the back door. Mihalis and Katherini run there. When she gets to the door step Katherini yells: “surprise!!!”, then they all hear a voice: “oh hello you two! A surprise indeed!”. A moment later Spiros walks in holding both children, one in each arm”, Mihalis squirms to get off, too old for such mushy stuff, Spiros smiles and puts him down, while keeping Katherini in his arms: “quite the surprise, how come you are in Bournemouth?”, Louisa smiles: “Christos was just saying that James has found a rental very close to us”, Dimitra smiles: “it’s a 5 min walk. The place is perfect for us and the price reasonable”, Louisa smiles happily: “oh that’s such good news!”, Dimitra nods: “yes, we are going back to James’ office to sign the contract now. We just wanted to let you know”, Spiros smiles: “this is such perfect timing. On Friday we can move your trunks together with ours”, James nods: “yes, the property will be available on that day. It’s already vacated. We can put September 29th as the start date for the rental contract”, Louisa smiles: “excellent! What are your plans for the rest of the day? Did you want to stay here tonight? Our bedrooms are all ready and clean, including the children’s and the guest rooms”, Dimitra smiles: “thank you for the offer, Louisa, but we need to go back to London”, Christos agrees: “yes, tomorrow I am to go to work. I will need to let them know these are my last two days”, Dimitra nods: “me too and the children have school”, Spiros gives Katherini a big kiss. Then he ruffles Mihalis’ hair: “have a fun trip back, children, and enjoy your school. We have already talked to the headmasters at the schools here. You can begin attending on Monday, right after we move”, Katherini is excited: “I hope the teachers here are as nice as the teachers in London!”, Mihalis sounds grumpier: “thanks bampa’, that’s great news…”, Spiros chuckles: “great news indeed, son”, he smiles towards Katherini now: “and I am sure the teachers in Bournemouth are nice too…”, Louisa hugs and kisses the children: “enjoy you train trip. We will see you tomorrow”.

  * The next day, Thursday, they clean the two houses thoroughly, then they take the train back to London, leaving their car parked in the driveway of their new house. That evening they prepare a large multi-course dinner for Patience, Sarah, and Prudence. They all enjoy the Greek-Indian food. Patience makes a sad smile: “I will miss having you here”, Prudence agrees: “so will I!”, Sarah nods: “me too, it was fun”, Louisa smiles: “…and chaotic. I am sure you will enjoy the silence”, Spiros smiles: “we have guest rooms in Bournemouth and you will always be very welcome to visit”, Louisa agrees: “we’d be happy to have you stay for as long as you wish”, the countess adds: “even at our house!”, Dennis nods, Louisa chuckles: “which will be, no doubt, quieter than ours…”, they all laugh, then Louisa continues: “Bournemouth has nice beaches. It’s popular for summer holidays”, Patience smiles: “that sounds lovely. We will visit for sure”, Spiros adds: “and take long swims all together, ladies”, Sarah smirks grumpily: “we’ll have to see about that idea!”, they all laugh. Patience adds: “and of course we’ll be happy to have you visit and stay with us any time”, Louisa replies: “thank you, we will!”, Spiros smiles: “always happy to see you, ladies”, Sarah makes a funny smirk: “so are we, always happy to see you, Spiro, strangely enough…”, he makes a happy laugh: “the most likable Greek taxi driver…”, Katherini yells: “in the whole world!”, they all laugh, Louisa smirks: “and the most smug…”, they all laugh again. Louisa kisses him and whispers into his ear: “and the most loved…”, he smiles at her very lovingly and happily returns her kiss, hugging her tightly.
  * That evening, they listen to the news on the BBC radio. The announcer informs: “today Warsaw has surrendered to the Germans to the west and the Russians to the east. Berlin and Moscow are dividing Poland between them. They are still agreeing on the details of the new border. All members of the Polish government have fled. Unofficial sources report that they went into exile in Romania”, Spiros scowls: “one invasion down, how many more to go?”, they all look very sad and very worried… Surprisingly, or maybe not, it’s good old grumpy great aunt Sarah who tries to cheer up the mood: “it’s not affecting us for now. And it’s not affecting Greece. Cheer up, folks, you are moving to your new house tomorrow. That’s exciting”, Louisa looks at her with a tight smile: “yes, exciting…”, they are all quiet after that.

  * The next day, Friday 29th September, 1939, the lorry of the moving company arrives. They load all of their trunks and Papaya’s cage, then the mover asks: “where exactly in Bournemouth are we going?”, Louisa gives them their address: “52 St. Albans Avenue”, the countess adds: “54 St. Albans avenue”, Dimitra adds: “47 Richmond Park Ave”, the mover checks the map. Spiros helps him find the two streets, then the mover nods: “perfect, I will see you all there”. While the movers drive to Bournemouth, they all take the train. At their new houses, they empty the trunks and organize their things. By evening, they are all settled in. Spiros, Louisa, Leslie, and Gerry are sitting in the living room, on their new sofas and armchairs, Louisa sighs: “well, it was lots of work, but here we are…”, Spiros wraps his arms around her: “yes, my love, here we are, together in our new home”, she makes a sad smile: “I don’t know that I can truly call it that. Corfu will always feel home more than Bournemouth”, Leslie smiles: “that’s true even for me”, Gerry agrees: “and me…”, Spiros smiles: “but we will be happy here, together as a family, until this war ends”, she makes a sad smile: “then we will return home”, he hugs her and gives her a loving kiss: “yes, my love, we will…”.

  * Over the next several weeks they all become settled in Bournemouth. Gerry is enrolled in a nearby high school. It’s early morning. Louisa and Spiros are lying in bed, awake, ready to begin their day. Louisa smiles: “I am happy they took Gerry in that school. I really did not want to send him to boarding school”, Spiros agrees: “yes, he seems much happier in a day school, returning home in the evenings”, she smiles: “and continuing his part time job at the pet shop” he nods: “and going to the nearby park quite often. He keeps collecting animals. I have lost count of how many cages and tanks I have already built for him”, she looks at him sweetly: “then it’s good he can’t go to the beach. They are all cordoned off”, Spiros nods: “yes, the authorities have put mines, barbed wire, and anti-tank blocks in all local beaches”, Louisa adds: “and both piers have been breached to prevent docking by enemy ships”, Spiros smirks: “just as well, if Gerry was able to collect even marine species I wouldn’t be able to keep the pace of his animal findings”, she lifts her head and gives him a loving kiss: “thank you so much love, you are always so sweet with my children”, he smiles: “I love them as if they were my own, you know that”, she gives him another kiss: “I know, and they know it too. They love you like a father”, he smiles happily: “all is good then”, he gives her a long kiss. She returns it. They begin touching each other… undress… make love… perfect, as always…
  * Leslie is happy too. He begins working full time at the RAF factory: “how are you liking your job darling?”, “very much, really. I feel I am contributing to the war effort even if I am not on active duty”, she smiles: “I am happy that you feel that way”, Spiros nods: “there are many ways you can support your country at times like this. Your job is important”, Leslie nods: “yes, and well paid, which doesn’t hurt…”, then he looks down, shyly: “may I have the automobile this evening?”, Spiros smirks: “only if it’s to take a young lady out”, Leslie blushes and nods. Spiros smiles sweetly: “then you can certainly have it, just please don’t drive too far. We don’t have many coupons and I am trying to save petrol, in case we need to drive far for an emergency”, “Leslie smiles: “of course, Spiro, don’t worry, I know that, I will just pick her up at home and drive to a nearby cinema”, Louisa smiles: “someone you have met at work?”, Leslie blushes: “actually, she is the owner of the pub down the road… her name is Doris…”, then he looks up: “I knew you’d want to know, mother”, She smiles sweetly: “a nice name…”, Spiros smiles: “well, have fun and do return the car clean, if you know what I mean…”, he winks, Leslie blushes then laughs: “it’s a first date, Spiro, of course!”, they all laugh.
  * That evening, after Leslie has left, Louisa is washing dishes while Spiros is drying them and putting them away. She looks at him, perplexed: “is the owner of the pub that nice lady with short curly hair you were chatting up when we dined there the other day?”, he smiles: “me chatting up?!?”, she laughs: “you always do”, he laughs too: “I am just being nice, not chatting women up. I have already _chatted up_ the only woman I wanted”, she smiles sweetly: “I know, you are just a very nice and sociable man. You chat men up too. You are already on a first name basis with most of the neighborhood, while I hardly know the name of the lady across the street form us”, he laughs: “they are all nice people, I can introduce you to everyone, if you wish…”, she laughs too: “maybe… gradually, though. The British in me needs to adjust slowly to all that sociality…”, then she becomes serious again: “if that woman is Doris, she seems older than Leslie”, he smiles: “I think you are right. She looks older”, she makes a worried face, he walks up to her, wraps her in his arms, and gives her a very long loving kiss: “is that a problem, my worrier?”, she smiles sweetly and returns his kiss: “not necessarily, but it might be…”, he gives her another long kiss: “not from where I stand…”, she looks at him lovingly. They kiss again, then she remarks: “not all men are like you”, he smiles: “maybe more men that you think don’t really care about age differences… if Doris is the right person for Leslie wouldn’t you just be happy for him?”, she looks uncertain: “of course…”. He gives her another kiss: “I see the shadow of self-insecurity in your eyes again, my love. How can I make it go away? How can I convince you that our age difference does not matter at all? I love you for whom you are. Why is that so hard for you to believe?”, she makes a sad smile: “I don’t know, really. I think I am just scared you’ll meet someone younger and leave me”, he kisses her again: “not a chance. I love you too much”, then he begins kissing her all over. Her neck, her ears, her shoulders. He tickles her. She giggles. He grabs her hand: “let’s go upstairs, my love”, she smiles sweetly and follows him…

  * Spiros and Louisa quickly find another part time job at a nearby preschool. They both enjoy it. Morning, they are walking to work, hand in hand, Spiros asks: “do we have plans for this evening, love?”, “nothing special, other than making dinner for our ever hungry growing young men”, they laugh, then he stops walking, pulls her to him, and gives her a kiss: “how about we go out, just you and me?”, she smiles sweetly: “it’s not the first of the month…”, he smiles too: “is that the only time we are allowed to celebrate our love?”, she looks at him lovingly: “of course not. Every day is a good time for that”, he wraps his arms around her. She puts her hands around his neck. They kiss. A long love kiss. The headmaster is at the school door, welcoming the children as their parents drop them off. Louisa and Spiros stop kissing and walk towards the school. They notice the headmaster was looking their way. They know she has seen them kissing, Spiros makes a blushed smile: “sorry…”, she smiles: “I don’t think there is anything you should be apologizing for, Mr. Halikiopoulos”, he seems surprised: “aren’t you worried the children may have seen us?”, she smiles: “if they have, they have just witnessed a beautiful display of affection. I don’t see anything the matter with that. Exposure to love can’t be a bad thing for young children, especially at times of war”, Louisa smiles: “happy you’d think that way”, she smiles: “my colleague at your previous school has told me you are a follower of the _lead by example_ motto, Mrs. Halikipoulou. I happen to agree with that, especially when it comes to feelings”, Spiros smiles sweetly: “me too, children who grow up seeing what true love is like, will recognize it when they find it in their own lives. How can that be a bad thing?”, he looks at Louisa very, very, sweetly and continues: “I know it’s a very good thing in _my_ life”, Louisa smiles at him lovingly: “let’s go in, my romantic. The children are waiting for us…”. She grabs his hand and they walk into the school together, smiling at the children and their parents.

  * Monday, 9th of October, 1939. Early morning. Spiros wakes up. Louisa is still asleep, snuggled into his body. He holds her in his arms, very quietly. She has been having bad nights lately and she needs the sleep now. He softly kisses her forehead. Then he dozes off, his face in her hair. Later, she wakes up with a sudden jolt. That wakes him too. He kisses her hair: “you are here with me, my love. All is good”, she is shaking lightly, he holds her lovingly for several more minutes. She calms down, raises her head and gives him a tender kiss: “thank you, love”, he kisses her too: “of course my love, we knew it’d be difficult…”, she lets out a sad sigh: “I hate him…”, he kisses her again: “me too…”, he keeps holding her in his arms, lovingly: “did you dream it again?”, she nods: “many times, luckily it seems the memory modification introduced by the reenactment protocol is still working. Each time you save me early in the dream”, he gives her another loving kiss: “I always will, my love”, she smiles sweetly: “you know what still bothers me, a year today since it happened?”, he looks at her lovingly: “tell me…”, she speaks with sad low voice: “that it was so easy for him. I was so helpless. If it wasn’t for you, he would have raped me and there was nothing I could do about it. He was too strong, I could not push him away. I so wanted to, but I couldn’t…”, she is crying now. He holds her in his arms, kissing her lovingly, she continues: “and he is here, in England. He could do it all over if he wanted. I still wouldn’t be able to do anything about it”, he tries to reassure her: “he has told Leslie he was leaving London. He is gone. You won’t see him again, my love, ever. And I will always be with you”, she looks into his eyes: “you are the best thing that has happened to me in a very long time, Spiro…”, he looks into her eyes very lovingly: “and you are the best thing that has happened to me…”. They kiss, very tenderly, and cuddle in bed for long. When they get up, they find a note on the kitchen table: _we have made mother’s favorite Indian breakfast. It’s on the cooker. Hope you both enjoy it, lovebirds. …and hope it helps, mother. We love you. Leslie and Gerry_. She reads it, then sighs: “oh, they’ve remembered too”, she begins crying again. Spiros wraps his arms around her, she leans her head into the crook of his neck, still weeping. He kisses her hair and whispers: “you have wonderful children…”, she raises her head and looks at him: “and a wonderful husband…”, they kiss softly, then he whispers: “let’s have that Indian breakfast, my wonderful wife”.
  * Today they don’t go to work. Spiros expected it’d be a difficult day and arranged a shift change for them both. They stay at home, busying themselves with housework and repairs. They fill the washing machine with the sheets from all of the beds, then Spiros asks: “can you help me now, love?”, she approaches: “of course, how?”, he goes to the back garden and points at a gutter: “water was leaking on the side of that drain when it rained the other day. I want to solder it now that it is dry and I’d need you to hold the ladder while I do it”. A few minutes later, Spiros is on the ladder, Louisa is holding it. Dennis and the countess approach, the countess smiles: “good morning, dears”, Spiros looks down and makes a big smile: “good morning!”.
  * The countess approaches Louisa: “Dennis, mind taking over holding the ladder?”, “of course, my love!”, the countess takes Louisa’s arm and steers her to a bench by the back door of the house. They sit: “how are you feeling?”, Louisa makes a tight smile: “all right…”, the countess smiles sweetly: “what does that mean?”, she is sad now: “it’s difficult…”, “would you like to tell me how it is difficult?”, she nods: “last night I had many nightmares. I hadn’t had them in a long time, but they have started again recently. I had a few after I saw him again at the party at the Greek club in London. Then I thought they had stopped, but last week they began again, every night more and more. Last night was the worst”, “that’s to be expected. Your mind must have been on that”, “yes, I have been thinking about it for a few days. I try to push the thoughts away but they keep coming back”, “are you having flashbacks again?”, “not during the day. They are bad memories, but I am aware of them. They are not a replay of the event. Just me thinking about it”, the countess smiles sweetly: “that’s actually good news…”, she makes a tight smile: “I guess so…”, “how about the dreams?”, “those are a replay, like they were before, but with Spiro’s addition”, “so the modification of the memory we introduced with the reenactment protocol is still there?”, “yes, he saves me, each time”, the countess smiles: “it’s good you have such a strong love. It really holds that modification solidly in your brain”, she looks towards Spiros and smiles: “yes… and he is being wonderfully supportive”, the countess smiles:” I am not surprised. He has been all along…”, “he seems to always know when I need him…”, the countess smiles: “he does. You should think of yourself as lucky. Even on a day like today”, Louisa smiles: “I know… and so are you. Dennis would move mountains for you…”, they both smile sweetly as they look at their men. They see them watching and both wave at them, smiling. Louisa shouts: “careful, don’t wave your arms while on top of a ladder, love”, he smiles back at her sweetly: “yes, my worrier, I am being very careful”.
  * They finish with the gutter and they approach them. They both lean forward and each kisses his love. Dennis is holding the countess’ hand and is playing with the engagement ring: “we have news”, the countess smiles: “we went to city hall and made an appointment for our wedding”, Louisa smiles: “that’s wonderful, when?”, the countess smiles: “Saturday, 28th October, 1939”, Louisa smiles: “the day of our housewarming parties!”, the countess nods: “yes. In the morning, before the party”, Dennis asks: “will you be our witnesses?”, Spiros makes a big smile: “happily so!”, Louisa hugs the countess: “of course!”, the countess hugs her back: “we don’t care about having big traditional celebrations, but we do care about sharing our happiness with the two of you, our best friends”, the two women keep hugging. Dennis smiles: “we choose the day of the housewarming party because all of our friends from Corfu will be here”, the countess adds: “and Prudence, Patience, and Sarah”, Spiros smiles: “excellent choice. We will make sure it’s a memorable party, then”.

  * Sunday, 29 October, 1939. Louisa and Spiros wake up late, huddled in their bed. Louisa whispers: “kalimera agapi mou”, his voice is still sleepy: “kalimera, koimithikes kala’, agapi mou?”, she lifts her head and gives him a tender kiss: “nai, poly’ kala’ mazi sou, agapi”. He returns her kiss, very lovingly: “the party was lots of fun”, she nods and gives him another kiss: “having all of our friends here was lovely”, he smiles: “we will have to do it frequently”, she nods: “yes, but we need to buy a gramophone”, he seems surprised: “why? Didn’t you like my and Gerry’s performance?”, she kisses him again: “of course, but that meant you could not dance as much”, he tightens his hug on her: “did you miss me?”, she smiles: “as a dance partner? Yes, I did…”, he kisses her again: “then we definitely need a gramophone”, she reaches for his lips and gives him a soft kiss: “and a record of the Blue Danube Waltz”, he happily returns the kiss: “…and many Greek records”, she smiles: “that may not be so easy”, he nods: “I will ring the Greek club in London. They have plenty of Greek records. I can ask them where they have bought them”, “good idea, my love. Let’s get up now. We need to make breakfast for our friends. Last night I told them they’d all have breakfast here. I felt bad that the countess and Dennis would have house guests on their wedding night. So I wanted to get them all out of their house this morning. I am sure they can use some privacy…”, he smirks: “after our British wedding we were not alone in the house. That did not stop us…”, she giggles: “true…”.

(trnsl: good morning, my love; good morning, did you sleep well, my love?; yes very well with you, love)

  * He gives her a long kiss, pushing his tongue through her lips. She happily lets him in. They keep kissing, more and more sensually. He begins touching her body. She moans: “love, we really should be getting up…”, he keeps touching her, reaching inside her pajama’s bottom, softly stoking her sex: “where’s the rush? All is still quiet. Everybody is sleeping…”, he continues stroking her, inserting his fingers and moving them slowly, touching the spots she likes. She moans and reaches down for his sex. She finds it hard and ready for action: “mmm, no rush at all, my love…”, with her hand around his erection, she moves it up and down, slowly, all along his length. He moves his hips into her hand and moans: “glad you’ve changed your mind…”, he keeps stimulating her with his fingers into her, while gently rubbing over her clitoris with his thumb. Her moans increase. They undress each other. He sits up and pulls her over him. She lowers herself onto him. He enters her and slowly pushes in until he is deep into her. She moans. He thrusts, she responds moving on him, slowly at first, then more and more quickly, riding him to both of their ecstasies. Afterwards, they snuggle into each other’s arms. Happy.
  * When they get up, Florence is already in the kitchen, making coffee. Louisa smiles: “good morning”, “good morning. Hope you don’t mind that I have set up the coffee pot”, “of course not!”, “this brand-new cooker of yours heats up so fast. I am envious. Ours is an older model and very slow”, Louisa smiles: “time to get a new one?”, she laughs: “with impending war time food restrictions, there may be no point wanting a more efficient way of preparing what we won’t have anymore…”, Spiros nods: “in that regard, having the party now was good timing, while food is still plentiful in the shops”. In that moment the phone rings. Louisa picks up: “hello… Theo!! What a nice surprise! How are you?” … “and how are things in Thessaloniki?”, Spiros walks upstairs and knocks on the guest bedroom’s door; “Maria, Alexia’, you should come downstairs quickly. There is a surprise for you”, then he walks into Gerry’s bedroom which he is sharing with Leslie tonight. He shakes him and whispers into his ear: “Gerry, telephone surprise for you!”, then he joins Louisa downstairs. Maria and Alexia’ exit their bedroom, wearing their robes, and walk downstairs. Louisa hands them the phone, Maria seems hesitant and mouths: “who is it?”, Louisa makes a big smile. In that moment Maria hears Theo’s voice and begins weeping: “it’s you, love…”, Alexia’ makes a big happy smile: “daddy!”, Maria is sobbing: “sorry love, I can’t help it, I didn’t expect you to call here…”. Louisa and Spiros discretely walk away. In that moment Gerry walks downstairs too, in his underwear. Louisa reprimands him: “go wear some clothes, Gerry. We are not alone in the house!”, he scuttles back upstairs. He returns after a couple of minutes: “why did you wake me up, Spiro?”, he smiles, why don’t you join Maria and Alexia’ at the telephone?”, he walks there, then they hear his happy scream: “Theo!!! Is that you?!?!?”.
  * They make large amounts of food for breakfast. Their friends are all there, Florence and Dr. Petridis, aunts Patience, Prudence, and Sarah, Maria and Alexia’ Stephanides, the judge and Georgia, Soula and the consul. The latter are sitting close to each other, on the sofa, As they are eating their breakfast on the coffee table, they coo sweetly. Louisa pours them more coffee: “I am so glad to see the two of you reunited”, he has his arm around Soula’s shoulders. He pulls her close to him and gives her a kiss: “me too, I so missed my beloved wife”, Soula happily cuddles into his hug: “don’t you ever be so far from me again, love”, he smiles sweetly: “never!”, then he turns to Louisa: “thank you for ringing Soula so frequently while she was alone”, Soula smiles: “yes, it helped a lot. Not only your calls, even Florence’s, Georgia’s, Maria’s, the countess’. You are all such good friends”, Louisa smiles: “the magic of Corfu continues…”, Spiros has just approached them: “magic indeed. It will always keep us close, until we can all return”, he hugs Louisa and gives her a long kiss. She smiles sweetly: “yes, we will return home…”.

  * November 12. They are all relaxing at home, on this Sunday afternoon, house cleaning and doing little jobs around the house, when they hear a cheery young woman’s voice: “aunt Louuuu!?!?”, Gerry is in the kitchen and walks to the foyer: “Molly, Phyllis! What a surprise! What are you doing here?”, Meanwhile Leslie, Louisa, and Spiros approach too. Phyllis explains: “we were driving by Bournemouth and we decided to stop and say hello. Aunt Prudence has told us about your new house”, Louisa approaches the young women and hugs them both: “it is so nice to see you. It’s been years and you have both grown up so much!”, Leslie and Gerry hug them too, then Louisa turns towards Spiros: “this is my husband, Spiro. Love, these are Molly and Phyllis, my nieces. Their mother, Elise, is Lawrence and Prudence’s sister”. Very gentlemanly, Spiros kisses their hands. Phyllis is looking at him eagerly: “I am so sorry we missed your wedding on Corfu”, then she turns to Louisa: “aunt Lou, you didn’t tell us your new husband was so handsome!”, Louisa laughs, blushed. Spiros puts his arm around Louisa’s shoulders and laughs too. Louisa smiles: “please sit down, I will make tea”, Spiros looks at her sweetly: “you should sit down too, love. I am sure you all want to catch up. I can take care of tea”, he smiles and walks back to the kitchen, joking: “if you Brits can entrust a Greek with making tea…”. They all laugh, Leslie replies: “of course, Spiro, you do make good tea!”. Louisa sits on the sofa across from the door to the kitchen. She can see Spiros filling the kettle and calls: “let me know if you need help, love”, he chuckles: “just trust me love, for this one time, if you can”, she laughs: “of course I can, always”. They all sit in the living room, chatting amicably.
  * At some point Phyllis gets up: “I’d need the toilet”, Louisa instructs: “down the hallway, right across from the kitchen, dear”. When she is done, instead of returning to the living room, Phyllis walks into the kitchen through the side door. Spiros is there, laying tea cups on a tray. He sees Phyllis: “hello, there. Did you need anything?”, she makes a sweet smile: “not really, I just thought I’d come here and get to know you a little better, since you are family now”, he smiles: “yes, of course”, they chat amicably for a little while, while Spiros opens a box of biscuits and lays them on a serving plate. From her viewpoint, Louisa can see them and is happy that Spiros is socializing with her family. Especially because this is her first husband’s family, which can potentially create awkward situations.
  * As they chat, Phyllis moves closer and closer to Spiros. She puts a hand onto his, on the counter: “you really are a handsome man, Spiro. I am sure you know that”, he removes his hand and laughs, blushed: “thank you Phyllis. You are being too kind”, she moves closer to him, their bodies touching, then she whispers into his ear: “I mean it…”, he is clearly taken aback and moves a step away from her. She moves towards him again and grabs his arm, holding onto it. She does not speak, she leans towards him and reaches for his lips with hers. He sees that coming and stops her, pushing with his free arm onto her shoulder: “don’t Phyllis… stop…”, she makes a pout, then whispers: “don’t worry, I won’t tell aunt Lou”, then she moves with her body very close to his. He is very embarrassed now: “Phyllis… stop that… I am not interested…”, she is still holding onto his arm. She begins rubbing her body against his. He becomes even more embarrassed. He whispers: “stop that!”, she makes a sexy smile: “don’t tell me you don’t like it”, his voice is shaking now: “stop it, Phyllis”, she leans towards him. This time she takes him by surprise. She kisses him and reaches with a hand for his crotch. At this point he grabs her shoulders more resolutely and pushes her away, then he speaks with stern voice: “I said stop, Phyllis, do respect that!”, she makes a pout: “just getting a taste of what aunt Lou has”, she licks her lips, then speaks with sensual voice: “not bad, really. I wouldn’t mind some more”, he walks away from her, across the kitchen: “well, I _would_ mind it, so don’t…”, she walks towards him speaking with soft sensual voice: “why? Are you that afraid of aunt Lou?”, he sounds rather upset now: “it’s not fear, Phyllis. It’s love. I love her. I’d never cheat on her”. Phyllis is near him again, and is licking her own lips very sensually: “I am sure I can make you change your mind on that…”, he is really angry now: “no, you won’t! Go back to the living room. Leave me alone”.
  * Louisa has been standing at the kitchen’s door for a while. Phyllis and Spiros are both startled when she speaks with very stern and angry voice: “yes, you’d better return to the living room, Phyllis. I’d like a word with my husband…”. The young woman looks embarrassed: “sorry…”, then she scurries away. Spiros looks at Louisa with desperately sad eyes: “love… it’s not what you think… it’s not what it looks like…”, he covers his face with his hands and starts crying: “please, believe me, Louisa. I’d never… I love you…”. She walks up to him, takes his hands down and caresses his cheeks, wiping his tears with her hands. She speaks with sweet soft voice: “I know. I saw it all. I saw how you were pushing back throughout and I’ve heard you just now”, he hugs her, clinging onto her as if his life depended on it, and continues crying in the crook of her neck: “I love you so much, Louisa. I’d never… ever…”, she hugs him too: “I know, my love”, he lifts his head, his eyes full of tears. She reaches for his lips. They kiss. A long kiss. He is still visibly upset. She looks at him very sweetly: “I am so sorry about my niece’s behavior, love”. They kiss again, many times. Slowly, he calms down: “thank you for believing me, Louisa. Don’t let this come between us, please”, she smiles sweetly: “it won’t. I know that was not your doing. I saw it happen”, they hug and kiss again. In that moment, the kettle whistles. They stop kissing. They don’t let go of their embrace, though. They remain wrapped into each other’s arms. Louisa looks into his beautiful black eyes sweetly: “let’s prepare tea, my love”, he nods. His eyes still shiny. She pours hot water onto the tealeaves Spiros has put in the teapot earlier, then she looks up at him: “how are you feeling?”, he smiles sweetly: “honestly? I still feel quite shaken. I think I have learned what a woman feels like when she receives unwanted advances from a man”, she makes a sad smile: “I am so sorry, my love. That is a rather lousy feeling”, she approaches him and gives him another tender kiss, caressing his cheek softly: “you don’t have to join us if you don’t feel like it. I will make up an excuse for you”, he smiles at her with loving eyes: “I will be fine, my love, as long as you are with me”, she gives him another kiss: “let’s go back there, then”, she motions to take the tray. He anticipates her: “let me, love. It’s rather heavy”.
  * They walk into the living room. Phyllis is sitting on the sofa where Louisa was before. She has been watching them all along. The others are chatting away, giving their back to the kitchen door, oblivious to what has happened. Spiros puts the tray on the coffee table. Louisa forces a bright smile: “tea is served!”, then she pours a cup each. Spiros picks up the plate with the biscuits and politely hands it towards each of their guests: “you should try these. Louisa has made them in our new oven this morning. They are delicious. She makes the best biscuits, ever”, he looks at her with sweet eyes. She smiles at him sweetly: “thank you, love”. Phyllis can see that. She moves to sit on the armchair near Leslie and Molly: “here, auntie and Spiro, you should sit on this sofa”, Louisa makes a tight smile: “thank you, dear”. They all continue chatting for a while. Louisa and Spiros sit next to each other and act as the perfect hosts, offering more tea and biscuits. Throughout, he is very clingy, sitting really close to her. At some point, he puts his arm around her shoulders, pulls her towards him, and silently mouths: “I love you”. They look into each other’s eyes smiling sweetly. They kiss. Molly sees that: “oh, that’s sweet!”, Leslie laughs: “yes, with those two newlyweds we have plenty of molasses in this house”, Gerry makes a sweet smile: “we sure do…”, Molly smiles too, then she turns to Phyllis: “so sweet, isn’t it, sister?”, Phyllis makes a tense smile: “it sure is…”.
  * Gerry changes topic: “would you like to visit the rest of the house?”, Molly smiles: “yes, I’d love that!”. Gerry, Molly, Leslie, and Phyllis stand up. Gerry leads: “let’s begin upstairs. He starts walking up the stairs. The others follow. Phyllis lags behind a bit. She looks at Louisa and Spiros, very embarrassed: “auntie, I am so sorry about that. You must know it was all my fault. He did nothing to encourage it. He kept saying stop and pushing me away. I hope you believe me”, Louisa looks really serious now: “I know, from where I was sitting I could see it very well. It doesn’t make your behavior acceptable, Phyllis”, the young woman looks down: “I do realize that. I apologize. I don’t know what else to say”, Spiros makes a nervous smile: “I hope you have learned a lesson today, Phyllis…”, his voice is very sad. Louisa is holding his hand, caressing it gently, then she turns towards Phyllis: “you should join the others upstairs, Phyllis”, she nods: “sorry again…”, then she leaves.

  * Early December. A postcard arrives. Spiros finds it in the postbox and hurries to Louisa: “big news from Greece, my love”, she takes it: ‘_Mother, have moved to Athens, so keep in touch. Have sent my things to you. In a trunk marked ‘3’ you will find a book called _An Evaluation of Marlowe_. Can you send it to me? Everyone here wearing tin hats and looking like war. Am buying myself large spear. Love, Larry’_. Louisa makes a sad smile and begins weeping. Spiros wraps her in his arms and holds her tightly. Gerry approaches and picks up the postcard. He reads it: “it’s good news, mother. Larry and Nancy will be safer in Athens than Corfu”, she sniffles into Spiros’ shoulder: “I know…”
  * A few days later, they are sitting on the sofas in their living room, reading and writing letters. Louisa lifts her head: “Margot says all is well”, she continues reading then she smiles happily: “Jack has convinced her to return to England! He is worried the war is getting worse and Corfu may be affected soon. He knows the British base will be evacuated if that happens”, she looks at Spiros. They both look sad. They know what that means. Corfu is in trouble. Spiros makes a sweet smile: “that’s good news, love, your child is coming home”, she nods, but she can’t bring herself to be truly happy. Spiros’ homeland, her true home, their friends, their family on Corfu… they sigh. She continues reading: “she will leave with the boat right after Christmas”.

  * Friday 22 December 1939. Morning. Gerry and Leslie are all busy in the kitchen. Leslie has set up the table with their nicer table cloth. And he has lit a candle. Gerry is making Indian breakfast. When Louisa and Spiros walk into the kitchen, they speak at the same time: “happy anniversary lovebirds!”, Louisa smiles: “thank you! It’s sweet of you to remember it!”, Gerry smiles: “of course we remember”, Leslie laughs: “the day Spiro has trapped you, finally”, Louisa seems perplexed: “trapped?”, Leslie chuckles: “yea, so that you could not walk away from yet one more wedding”, Spiros laughs: “well, yes, your precedents were worrisome, my love”, then he wraps his arms around her: “I am so happy I managed to _trap_ you at the British consulate a year ago, my love”, she turns towards him and smiles sweetly: “so am I, even though I am not sure I like that you call it a trap. It makes me feel like a pray”, he gives her a loving kiss: “the best pray I could hope for”, she happily returns his kiss. They keep kissing for a long time. Meanwhile Gerry plates their breakfast: “here you go, lovebirds, for a happy start of the day before you go to work”. Louisa and Spiros continue kissing. Leslie smirks; “we might as well begin our breakfast. If we wait for these two we will be late”, they laugh, sit down and begin eating. After a few minutes of smooching, Louisa and Spiros sit down too, Louisa smiles: “this is delicious, you are becoming a really good cook, Gerry”, Spiros agrees: “a good back up career in case your zoo plans don’t work out”, Gerry laughs: “they will work out, Spiro. I will have a zoo one day”, he smiles: “I know, and I will be happy to help you achieve your dream, Gerry”, the boy makes a big happy smile: “thank you Spiro!”
  * Later, on their way back home from work, Louisa and Spiros are holding hands, walking carefully over the freshly fallen snow. Spiros smirks: “I thought you said snow was very uncommon in Bournemouth. It’s looking like Chicago right now!”, she laughs: “well, it wasn’t common when we lived here before”, he smiles: “good thing my love for you is so heartwarming…”, she stops and looks at him sweetly: “so is mine for you, my romantic Greek”, she puts her arms around his neck and gives him a long kiss. He readily returns it. They keep kissing for quite some times, hugging, until they hear laughing. Gerry and some of his classmates are walking back home from school: “yea, that’s my mother, celebrating her first wedding anniversary…”, his friends laugh: “quite publicly”, Gerry chuckles: “yea, I know…”. Spiros hears that and turns towards them. He makes a big happy smile: “hello Gerry!”, then he turns towards Gerry’s friends: “hello to you too! Going anywhere fun?”, Gerry smiles: “we were thinking of going to the park and make a snowman”, Spiros makes a big smile: “that sounds like fun!”, Louisa agrees: “indeed! Don’t be too late returning home, though”, Gerry smiles: “I won’t mother”, she makes a smirk: “that’s good, because you need to make dinner tonight”, Spiros smiles sweetly: “I am stealing your mother for a romantic anniversary night out”, Louisa adds: “so dinner will be either your cooking or Leslie’s”, Gerry makes a mock horrified face: “Leslie’s??? I’ll make sure I get home in time to make us dinner, mother”, she chuckles: “I thought so…”, Gerry smiles: “enjoy your night out, lovebirds!”, Spiros makes a naughty smile: “we will!”, he grabs Louisa’s hand, reaches for her lips, gives her a soft kiss, then they continue walking towards their house holding hands. Their fingers intertwined.

  * Three days later. Christmas morning. Louisa, Spiros, Gerry, and Leslie are busy preparing food. Louisa looks happy: “it’s good we found a turkey for today. Even if wartime food restrictions are not being implemented yet, finding large pieces of meat is becoming increasingly difficult”, Spiros has opened the oven. He takes the turkey out, adds a few herbs and smears it with the marinade. Then he puts it back in the oven: “this will be ready soon”, Gerry gets up: “I’ll call them”. A few minutes later he returns with the countess and Dennis. The countess calls: “kala’ Christougenna se olous!”, Spiros makes a happy smile: “Joyeux Noel, mes amies!”. They all sit around the table and enjoy their meal. Louisa smiles: “well, not quite like last year, but a good Christmas nevertheless”, Spiros agrees: “different, but still happy, my love”. In that moment, Gerry gets up, goes upstairs and returns with his guitar. He begins a Greek tune: “we can always bring some Greece into our day”, Spiros smiles: “always”, then he gets up too.

(trnsl: from Greek: Merry Christmas to all!; from French: Merry Christmas, my friends!)

  * After a few minutes he returns with a large box. He puts it on the coffee table in the living room and makes a very big smile: “a special gift for the whole family from your mother and me”, they all look curious now, Leslie asks: “what is it?”, Spiros smiles: “why don’t you open it?”, Leslie walks there, removes the wrapping paper and emits a happy scream: “a gramophone!!”, Gerry looks very happy too: “yea!!!”, the two youngsters remove it from the box and place it on a small cabinet that has appeared a few days ago, Gerry smirks: “now I know why you have built that, Spiro!”, he smiles: “we needed one, so I made sure we had it. It matches the color of the rest of the furniture and the bottom part can hold many records”, Louisa smiles sweetly: “you really are very good at building furniture, love”, he makes a smug smile: “I know…”, she rolls her eyes. He laughs, goes to the storage room, and returns with another gift. A wrapped square package. He hands it to Louisa looking at her with loving eyes: “for you, love of my life”, she smiles sweetly: “wait a moment”, she goes to the same storage room and returns with an identical square package: “and this is for you, man of my dreams”. They both laugh. It’s obvious that those are records. Spiros smiles at her sweetly: “you go first”, she smiles, unwraps her gift and reveals a few records. At the top is a collection of waltzes, including the Blue Danube Waltz, she smiles: “our favorite!”, then she leans towards Spiros and gives him a loving kiss: “thank you, love”, he makes a happy smile: “it’s a recording from the Berlin Philharmonic. It was not easy to find, now that they are our enemies…”, the countess comments: “they still have one of the best orchestras in the world”, he makes a sad smile: “indeed. I wonder what’s of it nowadays…”, they are all sad. Louisa decides to change topic. She looks at the other records. They are also waltzes and various other ballroom dances: “this is wonderful, love, why don’t you open yours now?”, he opens it and finds several records of Greek music. He looks very surprised: “how did you find these? I could not get any useful information from the Greek club in London!”, she makes a silly smile: “I have my secret Greek connections…”, he gives her a soft kiss, then laughs: “do I need to worry? Should I be jealous? Another extraordinarily attractive Greek man?”, she laughs too: “I was just luckier than you. When I rang the Greek club, the man who had procured all of their records answered the telephone. He told me the exact name and contact information of the Greek importer in London. Then I asked Florence to purchase some records for us and send them here. I picked them up at the post office last week”, Spiros smiles: “then I should thank her too”, she smiles: “yes, and her husband should thank me for finding that information. Guess what gift Florence got for him?”, he wraps her in his arms: “we are lucky men, with such thoughtful wives”, they kiss, then she smirks: “I am sure Florence would agree with you”, he laughs: “and so would Dr. Petridis. They are a loving couple”, she smiles: “yes, them too”. They kiss tenderly.
  * In that moment the music begins. Gerry and Leslie have set up the gramophone and put on one of the Greek records. They have also moved the furniture towards the edges of the living room, to create a small dance floor. They all get up and form a small circle, dancing to the Greek rhythm. Their eyes are shiny. They are all very moved, thinking about Corfu. The countess sees that and after a few Greek dances puts on the record with the ballroom dances. She places the needle at the beginning of the Blue Danube Waltz. Spiros and Louisa begin dancing immediately, smiling sweetly at each other. Dennis and the countess dance too. Leslie approaches Gerry, bows, and makes a silly face: “mademoiselle, may I have the honor?”, Gerry makes a mock bow: “as long as you behave gentlemanly and keep your hands up…”, with his head he is pointing towards their mother and Spiros. His hand has dropped down to her bum and he is squeezing her towards his body”, he realizes he has been caught and laughs, moving his hand back up to Louisa’s lower back. Leslie and Gerry giggle. Then they begin dancing. They all have fun, alternating between ballroom and Greek dances.
  * Later they sit on the sofas and rest. The countess sighs: “this was lots of fun”, Spiros smiles: “I am glad you enjoyed it, because we plan to redo it for new year’s eve”, the countess smiles: “oh, but we I’d like to have the party at our house!”, Dennis adds: “we will make French food”, Louisa makes a big smile: “that sounds delicious”, Spiros agrees: “and we can bring our gramophone”, the countess smiles: “if we don’t buy our own between now and then…”, Dennis laughs: “when you say that I know what it means, love”, she giggles: “really?”, he smiles at her sweetly and laughs again: “really, we will go to the shop tomorrow…”, she laughs, leans towards him and gives him a kiss: “touché…”, Spiros laughs: “then on the 31st we will bring over our records”, the countess smiles: “we will make sure we buy records that are different from yours”, Louisa smiles: “good idea, this way we will have a large selection among us. I am happy to drive you to the shop tomorrow, if you wish”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Below, a few historical notes
> 
> Larry's postcard from Athens is real. It is published at the end of Gerald Durrell's book 'Birds, beasts and relatives', part of the Corfu trilogy. Unfortunately, it is published without a date, but I figured it must have been not long after the declaration of war when staying on Corfu for a British couple had become too dangerous.
> 
> Louisa's sister in law Elise and her daughters Molly and Phyllis were all real people, mentioned in Michael Haag's book 'The Durrells of Corfu'. That Phyllis was a slut who'd hit on her aunt's new husband is my own invention, though, just to spice up this story a bit... 😉
> 
> Doris Hall was a real person too. She was 11 years older than Leslie and the two of them got married in 1952 after a long time that they dated/lived together. I don't know exactly when they met. In this story I made it to be rather shortly after they moved to Bournemouth. She, indeed, was the owner of the pub down the street from them. Doris and Leslie had no children. Incidentally, Leslie was the only one of the Durrell children to only marry once. All others had either 2 (Gerald and Margaret) or 4 marriages (Lawrence). 
> 
> Leslie did have one other important relationship, though, with the Durrells' maid. Her name was Maria Condos (or Kondos). The story is kinda dramatic: Maria and Leslie had become involved in Corfu. When her family found out, they wanted to kill her. So in March 1939 the Durrells sent her to London, possibly to aunt Prudence, who would have employed her in one of her rental properties in London. When in June 1939 the Durrells moved back to England, Maria moved in with them, as a live-in maid. In 1945 Maria gave birth to Leslie's child, Anthony. Leslie was never involved with him, though. At the time he was already dating Doris. When her pregnancy became apparent Maria was sent to have the child at a home for single mothers. Later, she lived in a council house in Bournemouth, while working in the laundry of a hospital, raising Anthony (Tony) Kondos as a low-income single mother. The only member of the Durrell family who kept in regular contact with Maria and Anthony was Margaret, who was listed as the next of kin on Maria's paperwork. According to Margaret, Maria was in love with Leslie. Instead, he didn't really care about her and their child. Anthony never met his father (all info from Michael Haag's book).
> 
> Last, a note on a theme that I keep bringing up. That Gerald Durrell was a good cook is reported in several accounts. However, I don't know whether he learned early in life from his mother, who is also reported to have been a very good cook (Indian and English cuisines, but also some Greek). For this story, I decided Gerald did learn from Louisa in his youth. One thing we do know is that he liked to eat a lot and he also had a drinking problem (just like his mother), which is what killed him eventually. He died in 1995 (age 70) of the complications of a liver transplant, which he needed because of alcohol-induced cirrhosis (info in Michael Haag's and David Shimwell's books). 
> 
> Most historic information should be correct. I had lots of fun doing google searches such as 'history of washing machines' or 'history of refrigerators'. Both were becoming relatively established appliances in the 30es.


	43. Bournemouth, 1940. New year, many life changing events

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Life continues in Bournemouth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Second to last chapter.😢

  * Early January, 1940. Spiros walks into the house. Louisa is sitting on the sofa, repairing holes in some old socks: “where were you, love? I was looking for you earlier”, he smiles: “outside, shoveling the snow”, Louisa smiles: “thanks for doing that, love”, he removes his boots and puts his coat in the closet, then he turns towards her and laughs: “good thing I got all that practice in Illinois”, she smiles: “the weather man on the wireless said this is one of the snowiest beginning of a year on the Bournemouth’s record. He said the pond in Queen’s park is completely frozen. People are skating on it”, he laughs: “we’ve _lucked out_ with our first winter here, then. Good thing that…”, she interrupts him with a loving smile: “…our love is so heartwarming…”, he makes a sweet smile: “exactly…”, he approaches her. They hug and exchange a long kiss. Then Spiros goes to the kitchen: “I will begin preparing lunch, love”. Louisa smiles: “sounds good”. She finishes her sewing job then she gets up and checks the postbox. There is a letter from Margot, she opens and reads it immediately: ‘_Darling Mother, just a hurried note to tell you I’m leaving on the boat on Monday so I should be in England in about three weeks. Things here are rather hectic, but what can you expect? It never rains but it snows. I think it’s simply disgusting the way the Germans are carrying on. If I had my way I’d tell them. Will see you soon. Love to you, Margo_. P.S. happy anniversary of your British wedding, to you and Spiro’. Weeping, Louisa walks into the house. She finds Spiros in the kitchen, cooking. She walks up to him. He sees her crying, turns off the knobs of the cooker, and hugs her. He holds her lovingly, kissing her hair. When she calms a little, she hands the letter to him. He reads it: “I will go to the travel agent tomorrow. We can find out when the boat arrives exactly. Patience or Prudence may be able to meet her at the port of Dover”, she smiles: “yes, and we should prepare the guest room for her”. For a moment she looks very happy. Suddenly she makes a sad face: “this war is awful…”, she hugs him: “I am so worried about your parents, your family, our family, our friends, Corfu…”, he holds her and whispers: “me too…”, they hug for a long time, standing in the kitchen, finding comfort in each other.
  * 8th January 1940. On their way back from work at the preschool Louisa and Spiros stop by the newsagent’s. Spiros asks: “do you still have today’s paper, my friend?”, “only The Daily Telegraph, sir”, “excellent”. Then they walk home. After a small lunch, they sit down in their living room. Louisa is reading the paper: “oh, food rationing begins today… just like in the Great war”, he makes a sad smile: “in Greece it was food shortage, not just rationing. Many people did not survive, especially small children or the elderly”, Louisa makes a sad smile too: “oh, I hope they still have food on Corfu”, he is sad now, thinking about his family and friends: “at least the weather there allows growing food almost year around. My parents have a very large vegetable garden and they have planted lots of potatoes this year, expecting wartime issues with food”, she makes a sad smile: “that was good forward thinking. Those of us who have already lived through a war are going to be more prepared this time. I am happy your parents did that. Even Margot and Larry have planted lots of potatoes around our house. You should let your family know. They can go there and collect them. Instead, the UK depends upon import. We don’t produce enough food”, he nods: “and the enemy has been intentionally targeting ships with food provisions from our allies. What food is being rationed now? Everything?”, she continues reading: “bacon, butter, and sugar for now. The government has issued coupon books. One per household. The coupons can be used for a weekly allowance for those food items”, he smiles: “that’s not too bad. We can do with less of those and eat more fruit and vegetables”, she smiles: “yes we can, especially if we make Greek recipes. They hardly ever include bacon and/or butter”, he takes her hand on the sofa: “see? Marrying a Greek was not that bad an idea”, she smiles softly: “an excellent idea, actually”, she reaches for his lips and gives him a loving kiss. He happily reciprocates it, then he puts his hand on her breast and murmurs in her mouth: “shall we go upstairs, my love?”, she smiles sweetly: “that is a very tempting idea, but we should go and pick up our coupon booklet first”, he pouts: “fine, fine, and we should let Dennis and the countess know too”, she smiles: “and Dimitra and Christos”. They get up, wear their coats and leave the house.

  * The next day, Tuesday, 9th, January, 1940. Evening. The phone rings. Gerry is walking by and picks it up: “hello!” … “Margot! Welcome back to England!”, then he shouts: “mother, telephone!!!!”, Louisa is upstairs, putting the laundry away. She runs downstairs, meanwhile, Gerry keeps talking on the phone: “how was your trip?” … “yea, ours was long too, but we stopped in Gibraltar and I got a monkey” … he laughs: “yes, she allows her. She is actually very smitten with her” … he laughs again: “exactly!”, then he sees Louisa approach: “mother is here, all my love to aunt Patience and Sarah”, Louisa is smiling very happily. She takes the phone: “darling, you are here!!!” … “of course. I am sure they’ll make you a very nice dinner. Which train are you taking tomorrow?” … “excellent. We will pick you up at the station”, … “yes, Spiro couldn’t live without an automobile”, … Spiros is making dinner in the kitchen: “watch what you say, love. I hear you!”, she laughs, then she continues speaking into the phone: “oh, Prudence is there too. Say hello to all 3 of them”, she sees Spiros waving his arms. She smiles: “Spiro says hello too” … she laughs: “I am glad they still like him” … “have a lovely evening with your aunts, darling. We will see you tomorrow!”. She walks to the kitchen and approaches Spiros: “she said the aunts keep talking about you. Saying how nice you are…”, still stirring the food he is preparing, he turns towards her with a silly smile: “of course! Is it only them who say that?”, she makes a teasing smile: “yes, who else should, you reckon?”, he makes a pouting face. She smiles sweetly and approaches him. They kiss: “I love you, my very nice husband”, he kisses her again: “I love you too, my wonderful wife”.
  * The next day they pick Margot up at the train station. The hug between mother and daughter is very tight: “I have missed you so much, darling”, “I have missed you too, mother”, then she moves towards Spiros and gives him a big hug too: “I have missed you too, Spiro”, his eyes are shiny: “and I have missed you, Margot. Let’s take you home now, finally”, he picks up her suitcase in one hand, grabs Louisa’s in his other hand, and they walk to the parked car, Margot smiles: “I am curious to see the new house. Mother says you have built most of the furniture”, he laughs: “the best handyman…”, Louisa laughs too: “and the biggest smug…”, he pulls at her hand to drag her closer to him and gives her a soft kiss: “with a very big head…”, Margot smiles sweetly: “I see the smooching is still going strong”, Spiros smiles: “it couldn’t be otherwise, Margot…”
  * At home, they have dinner together. After dinner the countess and Dennis join them for coffee. They bring dessert, the countess greets Margot: “I have made your favorite French cake, Margot, a mille-feuille”, the two women hug: “thank you so much. It is so nice to see you!”. They all sit in the living room. Louisa serves the cake and coffee. In that moment the doorbell rings. Spiros gets up and goes to the door. The postman is there: “telegram from Greece”, Spiros signs the receipt then walks back into the living room: “for you”, he hands the telegram to Margot. She opens it and begins crying. Louisa immediately makes a very worried face: “bad news, darling?”, she sniffles: “not really. It’s just Jack’s reply to the telegram I sent yesterday from London to let him know I had arrived safely”, tears are still dropping down her cheeks, Leslie looks puzzled: “then why are you crying?”, Spiros is sitting next to Louisa. He takes her hand in his: “for the same reason your mother cries each time she receives news from her children. Because she misses them”, Margot continues crying: “I don’t know how I will manage so far from him”, Louisa gets up and hugs her daughter: “is he still stationed on Corfu?”, she sniffles: “yes, they are waiting for word from London any time. They know they will be relocated, but they don’t know where. That’s the main reason I left. There was no point me staying on Corfu without him”. Spiros smiles: “I am sorry the two of you have to be parted, Margot. I hope it’s not for long. Meanwhile, there will be distractions”, Margot makes a tight smile, still weeping: “like what?”, Spiros smiles: “your mother’s and Gerry’s birthdays. We are having a party on Sunday. All of our friends will be here, traveling from London and Lymington”, Margot smiles: “oh, it will be nice to see them!”.
  * Louisa makes a tight smile, Spiros notices that. He puts his arm around her shoulders and pulls her into a warm embrace. He gives her a loving kiss: “stop frowning like that, my love”, then he kisses her again. She makes a sweet smile: “I still don’t like aging…”, he gives her another kiss: “you are not old”, she smirks: “54 is not young, I just wish I was younger”, he rolls his eyes: “do we have to have this conversation every year, love?”, she smiles at him lovingly: “maybe…”, he gives her another kiss: “you know why I don’t wish we were younger…”, she looks at him lovingly: “I know…”, they kiss again. A long kiss. The others are all smiling sweetly. Margot looks around the room, puzzled: “well, that got me curious…”, Leslie nods: “me too!”, Gerry chuckles: “so why don’t you wish you were younger, Spiro?”, he stops kissing Louisa. Still holding her in his arms, Spiros looks at her with very loving eyes: “because I am so happy with what we have that I wouldn’t change anything. What if being younger changed the way we feel for each other?”, Margot smiles sweetly: “aww, I had almost forgotten how romantic you can be Spiro, he laughs and gives Louisa another tender kiss: “your mother’s fault. She is so lovely…”, and kisses her again. She doesn’t say anything. She just smiles at him sweetly, returning his kisses. Gerry goes back to the previous conversation: “how would age change your feelings? What if instead of 54, mother was 15? Like me”, he laughs: “then I’d be a pedophile!”, Gerry laughs too: “what if you were 15 too, Spiro? You could be a couple just like you are now”, Spiros makes a soft smile: “you will know what I mean when you are our age, Gerry. Young love is wonderful and I wish you will find a girl who makes you feel that way soon. However, mature love is different. Deeper. And I wouldn’t change what I have now for young love”, the countess and Dennis, sitting on the sofa holding hands, look at each other sweetly and nod. The children are looking at the two couples. They can’t truly know what they mean, but they sure can see those ‘old’ lovers are very happy.

  * January 28, 1940. Sunday. They are all having breakfast. Spiros asks: “do you have fun plans for today, young people?”, Margot smiles: “not really, do you have fun plans, _old_ people?”, Louisa frowns: “old?!?”, they all laugh, then Spiros answers: “Katherini and Mihalis will be with us and we plan to take them to the Queen’s park pond. It’s still frozen and we want to give them their first ice skating experience. They should have fun”, Louisa smiles: “if you, _young_ people, have no other plans why don’t you join us?”, Gerry replies: “yea, that will be fun!”, Leslie nods: “I’d like to but I have no skates”, Spiros smiles: “not a problem. I have inquired. A skate hire place has been set up right next to the pond”. In that moment, the doorbell rings. Gerry opens the door. Dimitra, Christos, Mihalis, and Katherini are all standing on the door steps outside. The children run inside. Dimitra scolds them: “take your wet boots off!”. They stop and remove theirs boots, then they run to their father and hug him. Louisa calls from the kitchen: “Dimitra, Christos, why don’t you join us for coffee?”, Dimitra replies: “thanks Louisa, that would be nice”.
  * The children are in the living room, playing records on the gramophone. The 4 adults are sitting around the kitchen table, drinking their coffees. Spiros informs them: “today we are taking the children ice skating at the park”, Louisa asks: “why don’t you go with us? It’d be fun”, Christos sounds unsure: “oh, I have never skated…”, Dimitra smiles: “it’s not difficult, I can show you how”, Spiros smiles: “Dimitra is pretty good. We took skating lessons in Chicago and she became very good very quickly”, Dimitra makes an embarrassed smile: “you are pretty good too, Spiro”, Louisa seems surprised: “you’ve told me you can barely skate, love”, he laughs: “I wanted to surprise and impress you with my extraordinary skills, my love”, she chuckles: “incorrigible, even when you are modest you actually aren’t…”, he laughs. They kiss. Then they all get up and walk to the park.
  * At the park, next to the frozen pond. The children are very excited. They all wear their skates, then, Margot reaches with her hand: “come with me, Katherini, I will show you how to skate”, she takes her hand and holds her on the ice, patiently teaching the correct moves to her. Gerry helps Mihalis. Within a few minutes both children are making their way around the pond. Louisa is watching: “that’s quite impressive, look how quickly the children are picking it up”, Dimitra grabs Christos’ hand: “let’s see how quickly you pick it up, love”, he looks nervous: “not that quickly, I am sure”, she laughs and drags him to the ice. They slowly walk on it, holding hands. Christos quickly loses control of his legs and lands on his butt. She kneels: ise entakei, agapi?”, he laughs: “nai, poly’ kala’, agapi mou”, she gives him a soft kiss, then she helps him up and holds him by his arm. Leslie approaches and grabs his other arm: “epitrépste mou na sas voithíso. It’s just a matter of getting the proper balance”. The trio walks on the ice, allowing Christos to get used to the moves. After a few rounds of the pond he acquires better balance and begins moving more confidently, holding Dimitra’s hand. Leslie lets go: “you are doing great, Christos, keep practicing. It gets easier and easier”, and he goes off to skate around the pond, showing off his skills. Meanwhile, Louisa and Spiros are skating around the pond, holding hands. Spiros asks: “when did you learn how to skate, love? Not in India, I presume”, she laughs: “it actually was in India, when we lived in the Himalaya. Winters were cold there”, then she looks at him: “Dimitra was right. You are a good skater, love”, he smiles: “didn’t you believe it?”, she laughs: “oh, I did. I had no reason to doubt Dimitra’s words”, he laughs too: “instead you’d doubt mine!”, she laughs sweetly: “maybe…”. In that moment the speakers begin playing a waltz. Spiros grabs Louisa and they dance on the ice. She laughs: “not so fast, love, my head is spinning”, he laughs too: “that’s my intention, so that I can take advantage of you”, he stops at the side of the pond, hugs her, and gives her a long kiss: “like this…”, she smiles sweetly: “mmm, glad that was your intention…”, and kisses him back. A long kiss.

(trnsl: are you ok, love?; yes, very good, my love; let me help you)

  * Early February 1940. The doorbell rings. Margot opens it, “telegram from Malta!”, Margot looks puzzled, “Malta?”. Louisa has heard the doorbell and approaches the front door. She finds Margot standing in the foyer, crying profusely, the open telegram in her hand. Louisa walks up to her and hugs her: “what is it, darling? Sad tears or happy tears?”, she is sobbing so hard now that she can’t talk. Louisa looks worried. She takes the telegram from Margot’s hand: “may I?”, Margot nods. She reads it ‘at Malta. Arrive UK airfield Feb 12. Two weeks leave. Love you. Jack’, Louisa hugs Margot: “this is marvelous, darling. I am so happy for you!”, Margot hugs her mother and keeps sobbing in the crook of her neck. Spiros approaches, puzzled. Louisa smiles: “happy tears. Jack will be here soon”. Spiros makes a happy smile, then he turns the other way. His face is very worried. His island has been abandoned…

  * February 12, evening. The phone rings. Margot runs and picks up: “hello”, then she makes a very happy smile: “it’s you, love!”, she begins weeping. Spiros takes Louisa’s hands and lifts her off the sofa. Then he looks at Leslie and Gerry: “let’s give her privacy”, then he drags Louisa upstairs. They hear Leslie’s voice: “we are off to the pub!”, Louisa looks down the stairs: “don’t buy alcohol for you brother. He is still a minor!”, Gerry laughs: “don’t worry, mother. I will have only a pop”, they leave. Later, Margot goes upstairs. Spiros and Louisa are in their bedroom with the door open, sitting on their bed, leaning against the headboard, reading books. Margot approaches: “you can go back downstairs, if you wish. Thanks for being discrete”, Louisa smiles: “of course, darling. Is he in the UK?”, she makes a happy smile: “his aircraft has landed at the RAF Middle Wallop airfield this afternoon. He has a two-week leave, beginning tomorrow. He will arrive here with the afternoon train from Salisbury”, Louisa makes a happy smile: “we can pick him up with the car”, Spiros smiles too: “I am so happy for you, Margot”, she smiles: “thank you Spiro, you are always very sweet”.
  * The next day Jack arrives. Louisa drives Margot to the train station: “I will wait here, darling”, she smiles: “thanks mother”, then she happily walks to the platform. Several minutes later Margot and Jack walk towards the car, hugging, both looking very happy. Louisa greets him: “welcome, Jack”, he kisses her hand, puts the suitcase on the back seat of the car and sits next to it. Margot sits in the front. At home, Spiros welcomes them. Louisa turns towards Margot: “why don’t you show Jack to the bedroom darling? You can unpack your suitcase while we make tea”, Margot and Jack go upstairs, to her room which has a large bed. Jack puts his suitcase down and hugs her: “is this the guest room?”, she smiles: “it’s my room”, he seems surprised: “and your mother is fine with us sleeping together?”, she smiles sweetly: “why not? It’s not that she doesn’t know…”, he still looks surprised: “still, under her roof…”, she looks perplexed: “Jack, the first time we made love it was at her house on Corfu”, he smiles: “I thought she didn’t know!”, Margot smiles: “then you don’t know my mother. She knew very well. She and Spiro were watching us when we went to my bedroom”, she gives him a loving kiss: “she just believes in allowing her children to follow their heart. When we lived in England previously there was a steady stream of Larry’s girlfriends. We never knew who would show up for breakfast, emerging from Larry’s bedroom”, he returns her kiss: “but that’s different, you are a woman…”, she kisses him again: “mother believes in treating me the same as my brothers”, he hugs her tightly, rubbing himself onto her: “well, that’s good, I’ve missed you…”, “I’ve missed you too”, they kiss. A long sensual kiss, standing in their room, the door still open. Gerry walks upstairs and laughs: “sorry, just getting my bird guide book”, next, they hear his voice from his bedroom: “for privacy, may I advise closing the door next time?”, then he laughs. Margot and Jack giggle, Margot smiles at him sweetly: “let’s unpack your suitcase, love. Tea will be ready soon”, they kiss again. Gerry exits his bedroom, sees them still kissing, closes their bedroom’s door, and runs back downstairs.

  * That night, Louisa and Spiros are in bed, hugging tenderly. Louisa whispers: “kalinychta agapi mou”, he gives her a loving kiss: “kalinychta”. They hear muffled noises from the bedroom next to theirs. Light moans. They smile. Louisa comments: “happy lovers”, he smiles: “had we been separated for weeks, we’d be doing the same thing right now”, she smiles sweetly: “even without being separated…”, he giggles: “indeed”. Then they fall asleep into each other’s arms. The next morning Spiros wakes up before Louisa and remains quiet and still until she also wakes up. He gives her a soft kiss: “kalimera, my love”, she still looks very sleepy. She makes a sweet smile: “kalimera, agapi”. He kisses her again, then he gets up and rummages at the back of their wardrobe. He takes a card and a box and hands them to Louisa, while joining her back in bed. He gives her a tender kiss: “for you, my Valentine”, she smiles sweetly and gets up. She opens the chest of drawers and takes out a card she had hidden at the bottom of a drawer, under her underwear. She hands it to Spiro, then she makes a mysterious smile: “wait here a minute”, she wears her house robe and goes to the bathroom. She returns shortly. She sits on the bed, next to Spiros: “let’s open these now”, she reads the card he has given to her and smiles sweetly, then she reads it aloud: “_my love for you fills my heart and my soul. On this Valentine day, please hold me in your heart and soul, because I am yours and yours only, now and forever. With all my love, Spiro, P.S. together with heart and soul I hope you will take also the rest of me… if you know what I mean…”, _she giggles and gives him a long kiss: “why don’t you read your card, love?”, he reads it aloud: “_whatever souls are made of, his and mine are the same (Emily Bronte). Spiros, I am so glad I get to call you my love on this Valentine day and always. You are my soulmate and my best friend. I love you with all my heart, Louisa P.S. the rest of me loves you very much too_”.

(trnsl: kalinychta = good night; agapi = love; mou = my; kalimera = good morning)

  * They exchange another long kiss, then Spiros hands her the box: “open this now my love”, she unwraps the gift and reveals a red box with many small heart shaped chocolates, she looks surprised: “oh, chocolate has become so hard to find in the shops. Where did you get this?”, he smirks: “there’s still plenty on the black market”, she smiles sweetly: “thank you, my love, a very sweet gift”, they kiss: “not even close to be as sweet as my beloved wife”, they kiss again. Then she makes a mysterious smile: “I have a gift too”, she gets up and walks to his side of the bed, close to him. She takes his hand and brings it to the tie of her robe. She makes him grab it, then she has his hand pull at it. He pulls it completely. The robe opens. She pushes it off, to the ground behind her. Then she makes a sexy smile. Underneath, she is wearing the sexy lingerie her children got her for their honeymoon, with very sexy thin stockings. She has decorated herself with two large red ribbons. One is fastened to her bra, in between her breasts, and the other is on her pubic area. Spiros’ mouth drops open. He remains speechless and motionless for several long seconds, staring at her body. His erection growing visibly. She giggles, blushed. Finally, his eyes reach hers. She is making a sweet sexy smile. He takes her hand and pulls her towards him. He gives her a long sensual kiss. She happily returns it. He pulls her on the bed next to him and begins touching her body through the thin lingerie. She moans. He keeps kissing her passionately: “mmmm, the best gift…”, then he sits up and looks at her with a naughty smile: “I have an idea that combines our gifts”, she looks at him puzzled. He takes the box with the tiny chocolates: “let’s play a game, my Valentine”, he takes a chocolate heart and puts it on his chest: “go ahead, eat it my love. There is only one rule in this game: no hands are allowed”, she gets the idea, she sits up in front of him, makes a sensual smile, and reaches for the chocolate with her mouth, sucking on his nipple in the process. Then she takes a chocolate and puts it just under the edge of her lace bra, right above her right breast. He leans forward and takes it with his teeth, giving a gentle bite to her breast, she moans. Then he takes another chocolate and holds it with his lips. She smiles sweetly, reaches for it with her teeth and gives him a loving kiss. He parts her lips and pushes the chocolate in her mouth. She pushes it back in his mouth. He sucks on her tongue, which is covered in chocolate now. They both moan. She takes another chocolate and puts it inside her bra, on her left nipple. He pulls her bra down with his teeth, freeing her breast, and reaches for the chocolate with his lips. He melts it in his mouth, then he smears it all over the breast. Then he proceeds to lick it all clean, sucking on her hardening nipple. She really moans now.
  * Then he makes a mischievous smile. He pulls the top of his underwear open and drops a chocolate inside. She stares at him with a sensual gaze, pushes him on his back, bends down, pulls his underwear down his legs with her teeth, and finds the chocolate near his testicles. She takes it in her mouth while licking and sucking on his testicle. She continues for a while. He moans deeply. She smiles sweetly, takes another chocolate and puts it on her other nipple. He removes her bra, catches the chocolate with his mouth, smears it over her breast, then licks it clean, gently sucking on her sensitive hardened nipple. She moans deeply. Then he takes another chocolate and puts it on the tip of his penis, giving her a naughty stare. She makes a sensual smile, bends down, takes the chocolate with her lips, smears it along his length, then she licks it clean, with particular attention to his sensitive tip. His moans become more intense. She continues, sucking him. He keeps moaning deeply, until he stops her: “getting very close, my love”, she smiles very sweetly: “I know…”, then she takes him in her mouth again and continues stimulating him until he comes in her mouth with a deep groan. When he is done, he opens his eyes. She gives him a soft kiss, then she takes a chocolate, and puts it in her knickers. He looks at her naughtily, pushes her on her back, pulls her knickers down with his teeth, removing them, and finds the chocolate in her pubic hair. He takes it in his mouth, then he begins licking her sex extensively, sucking on her hardened clitoris, and stimulating her opening with his tongue. Then he penetrates her with his tongue. She moans deeply. He can see that she is close now, so he continues with his stimulation for a while. Finally, he inserts two fingers and moves them in her, while sucking on her clitoris. Soon, she makes a very deep moan as she climaxes.
  * Afterwards he puts a chocolate on her lips and kisses her sensually, the chocolate melting in both of their mouths. She keeps her eyes closed for a few seconds. She opens them and smiles sweetly. He gives her a kiss: “hope you don’t mind I’ve cheated”, still in a daze, she seems puzzled. He kisses her again then murmurs: “I said no hands were allowed in this game, but I did touch you with my fingers right now” she smiles lovingly: “mmm, I think I can forgive you for that”, he kisses her again: “I thought so, you didn’t seem too upset about it” she giggles: “not at all”, then she reaches down for his sex and finds it hardened again. She wraps her hand around it and begins stroking him. He moans. She accelerates. His moans grow. She whispers: “hope you don’t mind my using my hands either”, he is panting heavily now. He moves on top of her, she guides his sex to hers. He enters her and begins moving slowly and gently, then with increasing urgency and depth until they both climax.
  * When they walk downstairs Leslie and Gerry are already in the kitchen. Gerry is making breakfast. When they see them, Leslie greets them: “good morning, lovers, happy Valentine day!” she smiles happily: “thank you!”. In that moment Margot and Jack join them, Gerry smiles: “happy Valentine Day to you too!”. They all have breakfast, then Gerry and Leslie go to school/work. Louisa gets up: “we have to go to work too. We will be back after lunch”, she goes upstairs to the bathroom, to get herself ready. Spiros smiles at Margot and Jack: “the house is yours, to properly celebrate Valentine day…”, he makes a naughty smile and joins Louisa upstairs.
  * That evening, they are all in the living room. Gerry gets up and turns on the wireless: “the BBC is having a special Valentine Day music program tonight”. They all enjoy listening to the romantic music. Margot and Jack cuddle on one sofa. On the other sofa, Louisa and Spiros hug and kiss softly. The 1939’s hit Glenn Miller’s Moonlight Serenade begins. Jack gets up and reaches in his pocket. He looks around and smiles shyly. Then he looks at Margot very, very, lovingly. He drops on his knee, with a small jeweller box. He opens it: “Margot, my love, will you accept to be my wife?”, Margot makes a big happy smile: “yes, Jack, yes!”, she reaches down and gives him a very long and very sensual kiss. Louisa is stunned. She turns towards Spiro and whispers: “my baby…”, he gives her a soft kiss. Tears are emerging from her eyes. He wipes them clean and kisses her again. Then they turn towards the happy couple, still kissing. They smile and wait patiently. When they stop kissing, they all get up and congratulate them on their engagement.

  * The next morning, Louisa, Spiros, Gerry, and Leslie are all having breakfast when Margot and Jack join them: “Jack and I have decided we want to be married soon, before he is posted again”, she gives Jack a soft kiss. Louisa smiles: “yes, I understand that. How long will you be in England, Jack?”, “I don’t really know. I could be posted again any time after the end of this leave”, Margot smiles: “hence we want to marry during this leave”, Jack is looking at her sweetly: “and if we do, they will give me an additional 10 days off”, Louisa seems really surprised: “oh, that is really soon, only two weeks!”, Margot smiles: “I know, and you thought Larry and Nancy got married quickly…”, they all laugh. Louisa smiles: “you should talk to the priest of the Anglican church”, “yes mother, we will do that today”. Later, Margot and Jack return home. Spiros and Louisa are laying scones and biscuits on serving plates. They all sit on the sofas in the living room and enjoy their afternoon tea. Margot smiles: “so we have a date for our wedding, Sunday March 3rd!”, Louisa looks excited: “excellent. Who would you like to invite?”, Margot replies: “not too many people, really. Just a few family and friends”, then she turns to Spiros: “I’d love it if you gave me away, Spiro”, he seems very surprised, his voice sounds moved: “oh, I thought it’d be Leslie…”, Margot looks at her brothers: “yes, of course, either one of them could do it, but I’d like it if it was you, Spiro. You have been like a father to all of us these past several years”, Gerry nods: “even before you and mother officially became a couple”, Leslie nods too and smiles: “I’d be happy if you did that, Spiro”, Spiros has a tear rolling down his cheek now: “I’d be honored, Margot”, she hugs him happily: “thank you so much!”.
  * A few days later, the phone rings. Louisa picks it up: “chief engineer Breeze? Yes, he is here”, then she calls: “Jack, it’s for you!”, Jack answers: “yes, sir”, … “yes, sir” … “March 3rd, sir” … “I am to return to the base on March 6th, sir” … “March 16th, of course, sir” … “yes sir” … “thank you, sir”. He puts the phone down. Margot looks at him: “what happens on March 16th, love?", he makes a sad smile: “I will be posted…”, he looks down and hesitates for several seconds, then he continues: “to Pretoria”, Margot pales and whispers: “South Africa… that far?”, he wraps her in his arm: “I am so sorry, love”, she is weeping on his chest. He talks to her sweetly: “because I am an officer and the posting is so far away, the army will provide family accommodation. You can go with me, if you wish”. She raises her head up: “of course I will. I’d go anywhere to be with you”, they look at each other lovingly, then they kiss. A long kiss. Louisa is sitting on a sofa. Her mouth tight, shivering. Her eyes are wide, rapidly filling with tears. She whispers: “South Africa…”, Spiros wraps her in his arms: “she must go, love. You know that. If you were in her situation, you’d go”, she is weeping now. He holds her in his arms, she murmurs: “I know…”. A few minutes later, they all sit on the sofas, having tea. Louisa is still sniffling. Spiros hugs her then he talks to all: “South Africa is good. It’s not at the center of the war action. You will be much safer there than when you were in Greece”, Louisa looks at him: “you are so correct, my love”, Margot nods: “yes, mother, we will be safe and we will be writing very often. I promise”, Jack smiles: “we can also make telephone calls”.

  * A few days later, Louisa is making dinner in the kitchen. Margot and Gerry are helping. Louisa asks: “where is Jack, Margot?”, she smiles: “he said he’d be in the back garden with Spiro and Leslie”, Luisa looks at Gerry: “making more cages? I wish you didn’t bring home so many animals, Gerry”, he looks offended: “I haven’t brought home any animals for a few weeks now. I don’t know what they are doing in the back garden”, Louisa smirks: “maybe they are feeding your animals? Spoiling Papaya as usual?”, he laughs: “that is a possibility, but I have already fed my animals today. Spiros knows it. He helped me”, Margo looks out of the window: “take a look, mother”. Jack, Spiro, and Leslie are digging. Louisa joins Margot by the window: “oh, that’s a rather large area. They are removing all of the grass. I wonder why…”, Gerry smirks: “don’t blame me again. I don’t keep my animals underground, not even the moles!”, they all laugh. A few minutes later, the 3 men enter the house through the back door. Louisa inquires: “why were you digging?”, Spiros smiles: “we have prepared the ground for a vegetable garden. The weather is warming and we should be able to plant one soon. I have been thinking about it for a while. We should grow food. It will help in case of a shortage”, Margo smiles: “such a good idea, Spiro”, Jack agrees: “yes, and the government is actually encouraging it”, Spiros goes to the mantel of the fireplace and picks up a box: “they are giving seeds for people to plant. I’ve picked up several bags the other day”, Margot adds: “and you should plant potatoes. Larry and I did that on Corfu when we thought we may be there for the duration of the war”, Spiros smiles: “yes, I have been saving small potatoes and buds for a while. They are in the cellar, together with a few buds for cold-hardy vegetable, cabbages, broccoli, kale, onions, and similar plants”, Louisa turns towards him: “and spinach…”, Spiros smiles: “yes, I have seeds for spinach and chard. I also have seeds for various types of squash. While the plant itself won’t take frost, squashes can be stored in the cellar for a long time”. Louisa is looking into the box: “oh, you have also tomatoes, peppers, aubergines (eggplants), beans, and various other summer vegetables”, he smiles: “yes, those can be dried or pickled. And we can make tomato sauce, like the Italians”.
  * Louisa approaches him and gives him a tender kiss: “this all sounds excellent, love”, then she looks at the 3 men and makes a stern voice: “off you all go to take a bath before you sit down for dinner, gentlemen. You are covered in dirt”, Leslie rolls his eyes: “yes, mother, yes”, then he turns to Jack: “welcome to the bossy Durrell/Halikiopoulos household”, Jack smiles: “your mother is right, though, we can all use a bath”, Margot laughs: “indeed”, Leslie and Jack go upstairs. Louisa turns to Spiros: “you too, love, you are not any less dusty than they are”, he makes a naughty smile: “I’d need help washing my back, though. I can’t reach it properly and I think it is very, very, dirty…”, he hugs her and gives a long kiss, then he whispers in her ear: “any volunteers?”, Gerry laughs: “we can continue making dinner, if you two want to take an extra-long bath”, she blushes and swats Spiro: “off you go, love, stop saying silly things”, he gives her another kiss: “silly?!? I was being very serious!!!”, Margot and Gerry laugh. Louisa hits Spiros with a dishtowel on his bum. He pretends to be seriously hurt: “ouch!!!”, he hops away from her and runs upstairs, laughing, then he jokes: “Leslie, Jack, I’d need a volunteer to wash my back!”. Louisa, Margot, and Gerry laugh. They hear Leslie’s voice; “you should ask mother, Spiro. She’ll be happy to help”, and Spiro’s voice: “not today, she is playing hard to get”, Leslie laughs: “then you’ll be washing your own back, sir”.

  * The next day Spiros walks into the house carrying the post: “love, there is a letter from Larry. It has the seals of Athens”, she runs, opens it, and reads it immediately. Spiros expects the usual flood of tears. She is always very emotional when she reads letters from her far away child. As she continues reading, he leads her towards the sofa, has her sit, then he sits next to her and wraps his arm around her shoulder. As she reads, she reports little facts: “he is working as a translator for the British embassy in Athens”, then she suddenly raises her head with a big happy smile. He is surprised it’s not tears: “what is it, love?”, she answers still smiling: “Nancy is pregnant! The baby is due in June”, then she suddenly melts into tears. He holds her in his arms and whispers in her ear: “that is such good news, my love…”, she sniffles: “and I won’t be there to hold my first grandchild…”, he kisses her hair softly and keeps holding her in his arms until she calms down.

  * March 3rd, 1940, evening. After the wedding and the party most guests have left. A few are staying at their house and next door, with Dennis and the countess. Some are even staying with Dimitra and Christos. Spiros and Louisa are sitting on the sofa, leaning onto each other, resting after the busy day. Margot and Jack are standing in the living room. She is wearing her white wedding dress. He is wearing his RAF uniform. They both look beautiful and happy. He wraps his arms around her: “hello Mrs. Breeze”, they look at each other sweetly, they kiss lovingly, then she murmurs: “let’s go upstairs, my love”, Spiros gets up smiling: “not so fast, lovers”, then he picks up a suitcase: “let’s go”, Margot is puzzled: “where?”, Louisa has got up too, she answers with a sweet smile: “a surprise, darling”. They drive out of town, until they stop in front of a small Inn. A lovely place, surrounded by trees and a small pond, Louisa smiles: “we have booked 3 nights for you here”, Spiros winks: “you need your privacy on your wedding night…”, Margot hugs him and her mother: “thank you so much!”, Jack smiles: “yes, thank you!”, Louisa smiles too: “of course!”, Spiros adds: “we will pick you up on Wednesday”.
  * When they get home Louisa and Spiros go to bed. They hug lovingly, Spiros asks: “how are you feeling, love?”, she replies with low voice: “tired, it was a busy day. And sad. My baby is leaving…”, he kisses her hair: “she seems very happy”, she smiles: “I know, and I am happy for her. It just feels strange. Only a short time ago she was my little baby girl and now she is all grown up”, “yes, it’s hard for me to imagine my little Katherini marrying some chap and leaving with him”, she smiles sadly: “it will happen sooner than you can imagine”. Then she lifts her head up, leans onto his chest and looks into his eyes: “how are _you_ feeling, love?”, he smiles: “tired. It was a busy day”. She keeps looking at him sweetly. He is quiet for a while, then he speaks with soft voice: “you know… it felt strange… seeing Phyllis again…”, she caresses his cheek lovingly: “how strange?”, he makes a sad smile: “I felt almost scared. I kept checking where she was to avoid being near her. I think she sensed it and stayed away too”, she gives him a soft kiss: “yes, I’ve noticed that too. And I’ve noticed you stayed near me all day”, he kisses her: “that’s normal. Near you is where I love to be, my love”, she smiles sweetly: “I know, but today it was more than usual. I imagined you felt safer that way”, he smiles sweetly: “I did…”, she gives him another kiss: “just like I feel safe with you… since Hugh’s assault…”, he kisses her: “I know that was so much more difficult for you, but, yes, I feel it is similar to some extent. Since that episode I have been feeling that I want to always be with you. Almost as if I want every other woman to know that I am taken. I am yours”, she smiles sweetly and gives him a loving kiss. Then she leans her head in the crook of his neck, hugging his chest. He holds her in his arms: “I love you”, “I love you too”. They fall asleep, wrapped into each other’s arms.
  * Wednesday, 6 March, 1940. Margot and Jack pack a few suitcases, then Louisa and Spiros drop them off at the train station. Louisa hugs Margot tightly: “let me know when you arrive”, “of course mother, I am sure aunt Patience won’t mind that I use her telephone to ring you”, Jack looks at her sweetly: “I will use it too. I will ring you from the base every day, my love. And I will visit you whenever I am allowed off the base”, Louisa smiles: “well, have a safe trip. We will see you on the 15th”.

  * March 1940 (no date specified). Mid-morning. Gerry and Leslie are at school/work. Louisa is making lunch. Spiros returns home: “I have picked up another coupon book for the rationed food. They have begun rationing even meat, and the clerk said rationing of tea, cooking fats, and margarine is expected in a few months”, she looks at the coupons: “that amount of meat per person seems a reasonable weekly consumption”, he smiles: “as long as we keep making Greek and Indian recipes, with plenty of vegetables”, she smiles: “and if rationing allows everyone to get enough food and prevents some from hoarding it, it is actually a good thing”, he nods: “I agree, my love. And our vegetable garden is coming along nicely. We will be fine”, he walks up to her and hugs her from behind, his arms wrapped around her waist. She turns her head and they exchange a tender kiss. Then he kisses behind her ear. She makes a soft moan. He continues kissing all along her neck, down to her shoulder. She stops stirring the pot on the cooker and leans back into him, enjoying his loving advances. He reaches for the knobs and turns them off. Then he turns her in his arms and gives her a long kiss. He touches her lips with his tongue. She opens her mouth and lets him in, meeting his tongue with hers. They keep kissing sensually for quite some time, while he touches her body through her clothes. She moans, wraps her arms around his chest, and pushes herself into him, against his clearly perceivable erection. Suddenly he picks her up. Taken by surprise, she squeals. He laughs and carries her upstairs. He lays her on their bed and begins removing her clothes, while kissing her body extensively: “I have my own idea on how to cope with food rationing”, she is undressing him. She giggles: “shall I guess what that might be?”, he gives her another long sensual kiss: “I will eat… you!”, he is kissing her navel now. He continues downwards and begins licking her clitoris until it hardens. She moans more deeply now. He moves down and begins licking her sex, entering her deeply with his tongue. She moans loudly now, knowing they are alone in the house. He continues with his oral stimulation until her body contracts tightly as she climaxes. He continues licking her softly until she comes down from her high. Then he looks up at her very contented face. She makes a loving smile. He moves up and gives her a soft kiss: “I can happily survive the war foraging on you like this, my love”.
  * She gives him a loving kiss and smiles sweetly: “I wouldn’t object to that”, then she pushes him on his back and begins kissing his body, starting with his ears and neck, moving down along his abdomen, until she reaches his erection. She kisses his sex: “mmm, my ration should be pretty rich and tasty too”, she takes him in her mouth and begins kissing, licking, and sucking on him the way she knows he likes. He moans loudly: “ohhh, that feels soooo good!”, then he closes his eyes and continues moaning. She continues with deeper and more frequent sucks on his sex until he spills into her mouth. She swallows it all, stimulating multiple spills, until he is empty”. She moves back up and watches him lovingly until he opens his eyes. She gives him a loving kiss. He smiles at her sweetly: “you can take your ration as often and you wish, my love. I grant you unlimited coupons”, she giggles: “if this is how we are going to survive the war…”, he grabs her and hugs her tightly: “not a bad plan, eh? We just need to keep up our foraging frequency and coupon use”, she giggles: “that doesn’t sound too hard a proposition”, he giggles too. Then he helps her up and positions her to lay onto him, his renewed erection between their naked bodies. She can feel it very well and makes a sweet smile: “more foraging?”, he laughs: “mmm, how about we waste this ration, my love?”, she makes a sensual smile, then she lifts herself up, reaches for his sex, and points it towards her entrance. She lowers herself onto him. He gently pushes in, then he sits up, holding her in his arms. They make love in their beloved seated position, hugging tenderly.

  * March 15th, 1940. Louisa, Spiros, Leslie, and Gerry take the train to London. They walk to Patience’s house. Patience welcomes them: “come in, dears, mother is anxious to see you”. As they walk in, Sarah approaches them with a big smile: “it is so nice to see you again!”, and wraps Spiros in a long hug. Then she turns to Louisa and her children and gives them much more retrained hugs. Patience laughs: “Spiro, you have obviously left quite the impression on mother”, he makes one of his big happy smiles and laughs: “of course!”, Louisa nudges him. He looks at her sweetly: “hopelessly smug, I know…”, she laughs. He wraps his arms around her. They kiss. In that moment, Margot enters the room: “hello smoochers, you’ve arrived!”, they let go of each other, blushed, then Louisa hugs her daughter tightly: “how are you, darling? Is everything ready?”, “yes, mother, my suitcases are ready for tomorrow’s trip”. That evening they go to the nice Indian restaurant on Drummond street. Prudence joins them too. The next day, Saturday, 16th of March, 1940, Patience and Prudence drive them all to the RAF Benson base outside of London. Patience comments: “I hope I am on the right road. This RAF base is new. It opened only last year, and I have never been in that area”. Spiros is studying the map: “yes, I think this is the right road, Patience. You will need to make a right turn in two intersections”. When they get to the base, Jack is waiting for them at the gate: “I am afraid only Margot is allowed in”, they all say goodbye. Margot and Louisa hug tightly, both in tears: “I will miss you, baby”, “I will miss you too, mother”, Spiros is crying too. He hugs Margot, then he pats Jack’s shoulder: “take good care of our girl, Jack”, he smiles sweetly: “of course”. Then Margot and Jack walk into the base, to take the army flight to Pretoria.

  * That evening they stay at Patience’s and Sarah’s for a second night. They all look gloomy. Spiros is holding Louisa in his arms, on the sofa. She is still sniffling. He kisses her hair lovingly but says nothing. He knows she needs to let it out. Sarah and Patience are watching. Sarah comments: “Pretoria may be far away but it is also far from Germany. They may very well be safer there than we are here”, Louisa lifts her head from Spiros’ shoulder: “I know… it’s just so hard…”, Gerry sits next to her: “mother, Leslie and I are still here…”, she hugs him: “I know, I know… and don’t you dare to go far from me, baby…”. In that moment, Spiros begins coughing. Louisa looks at him: “that cough does not sound good, love”, he smiles sweetly: “it’s just a little cough, my worrier”.
  * The next day they take the train back to Bournemouth. They are reading books and magazines. Louisa takes out a few sandwiches: “anybody’s hungry? Patience has prepared these for the trip”, Leslie reaches for one and bites into it: “cucumber sandwiches, mmmm so good!”, Spiros looks surprised: “can you make sandwiches with cucumbers?”, Louisa laughs: “of course!”, he seems puzzled: “really?”, she looks at him sweetly: “it’s very common here”, he laughs: “well, in Greece we put them in salad, not in sandwiches”, she smiles sweetly: “I know!”, then she hands him a sandwich: “why don’t you try one, love?”, he takes it, bites into it, then: “mmm it actually is rather good!”, he gives her a kiss: “you are turning me into a Briton, my love”, then he laughs. A Spiros-typical laugh. Suddenly, he starts coughing again, she looks at him worried. He gives her a soft kiss: “just a little cough, my love, caused by laughing. Maybe it’s a sign that I need to become a serious person”, she swats him: “silly…”, they kiss again. Gerry laughs too: “don’t become too serious, please. You are fun the way you are, Spiro”, Leslie nods, his mouth full of sandwich. Louisa smiles, looking at Spiros sweetly: “I must agree with Gerry…”, they kiss again.
  * When they get home, they find a letter on the kitchen counter. Leslie looks worried: “how can that be here? Who has our keys?”, Spiros smiles: “no worries, Leslie. It must be the countess and Dennis. Nobody else has our keys”, Louisa reads the letter and makes a sweet smile, then she reads it aloud: “_Dearests, Dennis and I have decided to take a trip to Scotland. We are leaving with the morning train. Please, water our plants and keep an eye on our house for us. We will see you in four weeks. Take care of yourself, Love, your friends_”, then she looks up: “Dennis has added a Post Scriptum: _this is, indeed, our delayed honeymoon_”. Spiros hugs Louisa: “that is such a great idea. We should do it too, love”, Gerry laughs: “you were planning a third honeymoon on the ship, Spiro. Maybe it’s time that you actually do it”, Spiros laughs. Laughing causes him to cough again. She smiles sweetly: “not until you get better, love”, he pouts: “I am not ill, love. It’s just a little cough. The first anniversary of our Greek wedding is in two days. Let’s take a week off. We could go to Cornwall. You said it’s beautiful there”, she smiles: “only after you recover from that cough. If you want to take a week off, you’ll have to look after yourself, love”, he makes a naughty smile, takes her hand, and motions to go upstairs: “let’s go and play nurse and patient, then!”, she blushes violently and swats his arm: “Spiro!!!”, Gerry and Leslie laugh.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A few of my usual historical notes
> 
> Margot's letter announcing her return from Greece is real. It is published in the end of Gerald Durrell's Book Birds, Beasts and Relatives, part of the Corfu Trilogy. The P.S. about Louisa and Spiros' British wedding anniversary is my own invention. The original letter did have a Post Scriptum which i find interesting, so here it is: I enclose a letter from Spiro. Most odd. The letter: Dear Missy Margo, This is to tell you that war has been declared. Don't tell a soul. Spiro.
> 
> January 1940 was one of the coldest on record for Bournemouth, with unusual snow precipitations. The pond at Queen's park was used for skating for 3 weeks.
> 
> At her wedding with Jack Breeze, which was celebrated in Bournemouth in early 1940, Margaret Durrell was given away by Leslie (as per Michael Haag's book). Here I figured it'd be cuter to have her ask Spiros.
> 
> For the scene where Louisa hits Spiros' bum with the dishtowel you should imagine the same scene in the TV series, at the market (season 2, episode 5) when she does that in response to his silly comment "why are there no gingerbread women?", followed by him stealing a gingerbread man. A light scene I find very cute.
> 
> Larry did work as a translator for the British embassy when he and Nancy lived in Athens. And they did have their daughter Penelope in June 1940, so I figured at some point earlier in the year they must have told Louisa.
> 
> Incidentally, because of the war, Louisa Durrell could not be present at the birth of her first 3 grandchildren, (2 from Margo and 1 from Larry) which I find very sad... (I don't know whether she could be present at the birth of Larry's other child, Sappho Jane - and of course I already told you how she was not involved with Anthony, the child Leslie had with their live-in maid, Maria Kondos).
> 
> To the best of my knowledge, the WW2 food rationing in England described in this and other chapters is historically accurate (dates, food types, etc).
> 
> A personal note: when I begun learning English and reading more about the British culture, I learned about cucumber sandwiches. Spiros' surprised response here reflects mine, several years ago. I too thought cucumbers were for salad and I had never considered the idea of putting them into a sandwich. If I remember well, I learned about cucumber sandwiches when I read "the importance of being Earnest", by Oscar Wilde. 😀😂
> 
> Last, an anecdote, growing up in southern Europe, I often heard the 'tale' that during World War 2 the men fed their semen to their women, to keep them alive during food shortages. I could not find any reference to that on line. So I have no idea whether or not it is just an old tale. Maybe it was just an excuse men used to have fellatio performed to them... 😉 Still, I thought it was a cute idea and I introduced it here.


	44. The Durrells/Halikipoulos in Bournemouth – The struggle for survival

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The end of this story. Some difficult times for the Durrrells and Halikiopoulos.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There was one last historic fact I wanted to cover before I let go of Louisa and Spiros. This chapter is based on it.
> 
> This has a happy ending. I promise. ❤️❤️

  * 18th March, 1940. Spiros is helping in the kitchen, but he has to stop frequently, coughing. Louisa sounds worried: “that cough does not sound good, love. It seems to be getting worse. You should see the doctor”, he scoffs: “it’s only a cold, Louisa. I don’t need to bother the doctor. His office is busy because of that flu outbreak these days”, she looks at him with stern eyes: “if you are not better in a day or two you are going to see the doctor, Spiro”, he smiles at her sweetly: “yes ma’am, at your orders”, she goes near him, laughing: “since when are you so obedient?”, he wraps his arms around her: “I have learnt when not to pick a fight with you, my love. And I know you won’t give up on this one…”. He pulls her near his body and they kiss. Their kiss is interrupted by his coughing. She looks at him worried. He notices that: “don’t worry love, I won’t die of this cold. You won’t be able to get rid of me that easily”, she slaps his arm: “don’t joke like that, love. You scare me!”, he gives her another kiss: “sorry…”, and he continues preparing supper, coughing…
  * The next morning, Tuesday 19th March, 1940. Louisa wakes up. Spiros is still asleep. She lays quietly, to avoid waking him. His breathing is labored because of his cold. He jerks, twitches. He looks like he is waking up, but then he goes back to deep sleep. She makes a soft smile. He looks so adorable when he does that. She reaches for his lips. Slowly and gently. She places a soft kiss on them. He keeps sleeping. She keeps watching him, lovingly. After several minutes his labored breathing becomes shallower. He wakes up. He opens his eyes and sees her. She smiles sweetly: “kalimera agapi mou”. His eyes still look adorably sleepy. He reaches for her and wraps his arms around her: “good morning my love”, he puts his nose in the crook of her neck and drifts back to sleep, she smiles sweetly and allows him to rest longer, very content in his loving embrace. After several more minutes he opens his eyes again, tightens his hug and: “happy anniversary, my love”, she snuggles into his warm body: “happy anniversary, agapi mou, I can’t believe a year has already gone by. It feels it was yesterday that we walked down the aisle together”, he coughs, still holding her in his arms: “yes, happy time goes by so quickly… and this past year I have been so happy with you, my love”, he coughs again, she looks up: “that cold is getting worse, my love. Tomorrow we will go to the doctor”, he gives her a loving kiss: “fine, my love, if that eases your worries, we will go”, she gives him a tender kiss: “I will call today to make an appointment in their urgent list”, he smiles sweetly: “I don’t think that’s necessary but I will accept it”, he giggles: “so much I have learned in this one year under your loving control…”, he is going to say something else but cough stops him. It’s a longer fit this time and it takes a few minutes before he regains regular, though labored, breathing. She looks worried now: “you won’t be able to smart talk yourself out of seeing the doctor about that cough, my love”, he makes a very loving smile: “I know…”.

(trnsl: kalimera = good morning; agapi = love; mou = my)

  * Then he begins caressing her. He reaches under her pajamas top, pulls gently and removes it. She lifts her arms to allow it. Then he reaches down and pulls her pajamas bottoms down her legs. She lifts her hips so that he can remove them. She is completely naked now. They are kissing sensually. Their tongues find each other in their mouths, following a well-practiced tango. She pulls his T-shirt up and removes it. She strokes his chest, playing with the curls of his chest hair. He pulls gently on her nipples and pinches them until they harden. She kisses his earlobe, his neck, his nipples. He begins moaning. She continues down towards his lower abdomen, caressing his skin lightly. He keeps moaning. She reaches his sex and finds it hard. She pulls his pajama’s down and removes it. They are both naked now. He is leaning back. His eyes closed, enjoying her loving touches. She begins kissing his crotch. His moans deepen. She takes him in her mouth, while slowly moving her hand wrapped around him. He lets out a deep sigh. She gently licks his tip with rotating movements, alternating that with licking down, all along his sex. His moans quicken and deepen… then he begins coughing, and coughing, and coughing. She stops and looks up, worried. His cough ends. He sees her concern. He pulls her up towards him and kisses her lovingly: “I am fine, my love. It’s just a cough”.
  * Then he gives her a long sensual kiss. She moans. He leans her on her back and kisses her earlobe, her neck right behind it, all along down to her shoulders, her nipples. She closes her eyes and moans. He strokes her body lightly. She responds with light shivers. He reaches down and presses on her clitoris, lightly and with gentle stroking circular motions. She sighs deeply. He continues for a while, then he inserts his fingers. Her moans quicken. She wants him in now. She pulls his body up. He enters her slowly and gently. She moans. He gives her a long kiss, then he begins moving on her, pushing into her welcoming alcove. She moves in synchrony with him, their bodies joint in a familiar dance. Their moans grow louder and deeper. Suddenly he begins coughing again. He has to stop, until his cough is over. He looks at her. She looks worried again. He whispers: “I am so sorry, my love. That was such bad timing for you. You were close…”, she smiles sweetly and gives him a loving kiss. He turns them around, their bodies still joint. She is sitting on him now, leaning forward, hugging his chest. He smiles sweetly: “it seems I need you to help, my love… take us to heaven… you know the way…”, she kisses him lovingly and begins moving on him. He moves with her, following her lead. She moves slowly at first, then she accelerates the pace. He follows her. Her moans increase and deepen. So do his. As they are both closer to climax, she sits up and pushes onto him harder, more deeply and rapidly. They both moan and sigh. She can see he is really close now, holding back to allow her to get there. She pushes harder and deeper until she suddenly tightens on him, climaxing. He lets go and spills into her, more and more with each strong tight contraction from her climaxing body. They come down from their high together. Then she leans down on his chest. They hug, spent and content.
  * Afterwards, they stay in bed for a long time, hugging and cooing lovingly. He keeps having fits of cough. He smiles at her: “are you sure you want to keep this sickly husband, my love?”, she smiles sweetly and whispers: “for as long as I live…”, she snuggles up into his chest. He wraps her in his arms: “I love you, Louisa”, “I love you too”. Later, they get up and have an extra-long warm bath. When they finally go downstairs it is rather late. Leslie and Gerry have gone to work and school. There is a note on the kitchen table; _good morning lovebirds, happy anniversary! We have made Indian breakfast. It is on the cooker. Hopefully it is still good by the time you emerge from your love nest. Love, Leslie and Gerry_. She smiles: “that’s sweet”, Spiros hugs her from behind and kisses her neck, his mouth open, tasting her skin: “mmm, very sweet. They obviously have their mother’s genes…”, he turns her around and gives her a loving kiss. Then he coughs again. She looks at him worried. He can see that: “my love, I will be fine. It’s just a cold”, they hug.

  * In that moment the phone rings. Louisa picks up, Spiros is listening: “hello Larry, what a nice surprise!!” …. “thank you so much darling” … “yes, he is here”, she turns to Spiros: “happy anniversary from Larry”, he smiles sweetly: “thank you! How is him?” … “how are you darling? And Nancy? How’s her pregnancy?”… “so glad to learn that, darling. You need to look after her, now. Promise you will!” ... she laughs: “yes, of course you will… How are things in Athens?” … “happy to hear that. Please, stay safe!” … “yes, darling, all my love to you and Nancy”, she looks up, Spiros is making a silly smile, pointing at his own chest, “love even from Spiro. He can’t wait to be a grandpa…”. She closes the conversation. He approaches her and hugs her. She leans on his shoulder, with a big sigh. He hugs her tightly: “they will be safe in Athens, love. I have written to my friends there. They are keeping an eye on them”, she laughs: “even in Athens? I don’t know how you do it. You are amazing, my love”, he kisses her hair: “I know…”, she laughs, raises her head and gives him a tender kiss: “bigheaded…”, he kisses her and smiles naughtily: “just agreeing with you, my love”, they laugh. Laughing triggers another fit of cough. She looks worried: “you should take it easy today, my love”. They spend the rest of the morning sitting on the sofa quietly, reading their books and listening to music on the radio. That seems to help. Spiro’s cough is not as bad, even though his breathing remains labored.
  * After lunch, he has another coughing fit: “why don’t you go back to rest on the sofa, my love? I will take care of cleaning up here”, she looks at the cooker: “it’s lovely that they’d prepare breakfast, but look at that mess”, he laughs, takes his book and sits on the sofa. After a few minutes, the phone rings again, Louisa picks up. This time it’s Margot: “thank you so much, darling, I will let him know”, Spiros approaches and talks with loud voice into the telephone: “hello, Margot, how’s Africa treating you?”, he listens into the phone, his ear next to Louisa’s: “that’s very good. How was your trip?”, he laughs “well, we knew it wouldn’t be a short trip”, Louisa steps in: “take it easy now, darling, rest and recover from the long trip”, they listen to Margot for a bit, he laughs: “yes, I am taking care of my beloved bride, celebrating the first of many happy years”, Louisa smiles at him sweetly. Spiros gives her a soft kiss and continues: “proposing to your mother was such a good idea that I wish I could do it again!”, he and Louisa look at each other lovingly, while listening to Margot’s reply. He smiles: “I know that we married twice. I just love being married to your mother so much that I’d keep doing it over and over”, he laughs. That makes him cough, badly. Louisa takes over the telephone: “yes, he has a bad cold. He will see the doctor tomorrow. I have made an appointment for the afternoon. How are you and Jack?” … “happy to learn that. Keep safe, my darling, thank you for calling”. She closes the telephone. Her eyes are teary. He hugs her: “your wonderful and peculiar children are all fine, my love” she sniffles: “I know, I just miss them”, he hugs her: “this war won’t last forever, we will see them again soon”, she keeps sniffling in the crook of his neck. He holds her in his arms, lovingly.
  * He decides to distract her the best way he knows: “we need to keep celebrating our anniversary, my love…”, he begins kissing her neck, behind her ear. Then he moves down to her shoulder. She moans. He takes her to the sofa, sits down, and has her straddle him. They kiss, more and more sensually. She blushes: “we are in front of a window, my love, anyone who passes by…”, he laughs: “will be very entertained!”, she laughs and slaps his arm, he moves her to the side, gets up, and pulls the blackout curtains shut. Then he returns to the sofa, hugs her and makes a naughty smile: “where were we at? I can’t remember…” she smiles sweetly: “let me remind you…”, and gives him a long kiss, entering his mouth with her tongue. He has her straddle him again, pushes her skirt up, and reaches up her thighs with his hand, softly stroking her sensitive skin. She moans. He reaches higher, removes her knickers and begins touching and stimulating her. Her moans deepen. She reaches down and opens his trousers’ buttons. She finds his erection and wraps her hand around it, moving slowly, applying a light squeeze. He shows his appreciation with deep moans, then she moves forward, bringing herself close to his sex. He pulls his trousers and underwear down. He guides her on him. She sits on his sex, slowly easing him into her. They both moan deeply. She begins moving on him, kissing him deeply. He struggles to breath. She notices that and stops. He smiles and moans: “don’t stop, my love, keep moving”, he gently pushes into her, then smiles: “unless you tell me you are not enjoying this…”, she smiles: “mmm…”, then she pushes on him, more and more, moaning and panting, he thrusts into her, responding to her movements, until they come together, with deep sighs.

  * That evening Leslie and Gerry return home from work and school. Louisa and Spiros are sitting on the sofa, leaning into each other, listening to music on the wireless. Gerry is surprised: “oh, I thought you’d be out, celebrating your first wedding anniversary”, Leslie makes a mischievous smile: “either out or upstairs…”, Spiros laughs: “me too, either one or the other…” he gives Louisa a soft kiss: “or both…”, she blushes, she is going to scold him when he starts coughing. She makes a sweet smile: “stop saying silly things, my love. When you laugh you end up with those nasty coughing fits, then your breathing becomes all labored”, he is still coughing. Gerry suggests: “you should see the doctor about that, Spiro”, Louisa smiles: “he will, tomorrow afternoon”. Meanwhile, Spiros’ cough has calmed down: “I will take you out for a wonderful romantic dinner as soon as I feel better, my love. I promise”, he gives her another kiss, then he continues: “and we will have the most memorable honeymoon so far”, he gives her a long kiss. She looks at him lovingly and kisses him back. Leslie smiles: “in the meanwhile, we might as well make dinner”, Gerry offers: “I will take care of that. I will make something special, for your first Greek anniversary”, Louisa smiles: “Greek?”, Gerry laughs: “well, you have so many anniversaries that we need to give them names so that we remember which is which”, Leslie laughs: “that’s right; the monthly dates, June 1st, the British Wedding, the Greek wedding… it seems the two of you are always celebrating something”, Spiros smiles sweetly: “that’s good. I couldn’t stand having only one excuse a year to ruffle up your mother, Leslie”, she blushes and swats him: “Spiro!!”, they all laugh. That causes him to cough again, badly, struggling to catch his breath. She looks at him worried: “stop saying silly things, love, please!”, they kiss.

  * In the middle of that night, Louisa wakes up. Something is off. It takes her a few seconds before she realizes what. Then she turns towards Spiros, very worried. His breathing is very labored. She puts her ear on his chest and can hear a whistle each time he exhales. She lays in bed awake for the remainder of the night, very worried, listening to his breathing as he sleeps. The next morning Spiros wakes up coughing again. He tries to get up but he stops, sitting on the edge of the bed with his hands on his temples. Louisa runs to him really worried now: “what’s wrong love?”, he speaks with labored breathing: “I feel dizzy, my head spins”, she touches his forehead: “you are hot, love. You should lay down”, she helps him back to bed: “your cold is getting worse, love. Stay in bed and rest for today. I will ring the doctor as soon as his office opens at 7AM”, then she runs to the bathroom and takes the thermometer from the medicine cabinet. Leslie hears the commotion and gets up: “what’s wrong, mother?”, she looks worried: “Spiro is not well. His breathing is labored and he is feeling dizzy. I am not liking it”. She runs back to their bedroom and puts the thermometer in Spiros’ mouth: “hold it under your tongue for 10 minutes, love”, he mumbles something unintelligible. She chuckles: “quiet, my love, don’t talk with the thermometer in your mouth”, she kisses his cheek and smiles sweetly: “men really are the worst of patients…”, then she waits for the 10 minutes, sitting on the bed next to him. Leslie has dressed and is now waiting too, standing by their bedroom’s door. When she takes the thermometer out of Spiros’ mouth she makes a very worried face. He notices that: “how bad is it, love?”, “108 Fahrenheit, that’s very high, 42.2 Celsius”, she goes back to the medicine cabinet and returns with two tablets of aspirin and a large glass of water: “here, take these, they will take care of that fever”, she helps him swallow the aspirins and puts a wet cloth on his forehead, to give him relief from the high temperature: “keep your eyes closed, love. It will help with the headache and the dizziness while the aspirin takes effect”. Then she goes downstairs and rings the doctor’s office. She explains his symptoms. Leslie asks: “what did they say?”, “the doctor will come by shortly, meanwhile, why don’t you make yourself breakfast? You will need to go to work soon”, he nods and goes to the kitchen. Louisa calls the school and lets them know that neither her nor Spiros will be going to work for a few days. Then she goes back upstairs and sits by Spiros.
  * The doorbell rings about 30 min later. Louisa opens the door. It’s the doctor. “Thank you for coming so quickly”, “not a problem, Mrs. Halikiopoulou, I normally do home visits in the morning, before I begin with office appointments, and you live on my way to my office, so it was easy to add you to my schedule”. She leads him upstairs to their bedroom and the doctor visits Spiros. Louisa stands near the bed, looking worried. Spiros smiles at her: “don’t worry love, it’s just a cold”. The doctor is auscultating his chest: “don’t talk, please”, “sorry…”, Louisa smiles and puts her finger on her lips: “shhh”. The doctor keeps moving his stethoscope on Spiros’ chest: “take a deep breath now”, “another”, “another”, “say ah”, “say eh”, “sit up”, he auscultates his back, now. Then he looks at Louisa: “you were correct, Mrs. Halikiopoulou, there is a clear wheezing sound. I am afraid you have pneumonia, Mr. Halikiopoulos. There is an outbreak these days. I am seeing several patients with the same symptoms. Hopefully, your lungs will clear within a few weeks. Meanwhile you will need prolonged bed rest. You will also need to continue taking aspirin, several times a day, to keep your fever down”.
  * As he is leaving the house, Louisa asks with very worried voice: “doctor, is this dangerous?”, the doctor looks at her with frank eyes: “I am afraid it is. About 40% of patients are not surviving this infection. It is very aggressive. You will need to do your best to keep his fever down. Aspirin may not be sufficient. I recommend covering him with towels soaked in ice water”, Louisa looks horrified, her eyes full of tears, she whispers: “I will do that, thank you doctor”. As she closes the door she starts shaking. She can’t walk. Her legs give in. She falls on the floor, against the door, sobbing. Leslie runs from the kitchen: “mother!”. He has heard what the doctor has said. He helps her up and carries her to the sofa: “mother, you need to be strong, for him, to look after him and to give him strength”, she keeps weeping, barely able to speak through her sobs: “he said 40% of patients die…”, he hugs her: “and 60% live. Let’s think positive, mother. Spiro is a strong man. He will live”, she looks at him, still crying: “I so hope you are correct, Leslie”, she keeps sobbing. He hugs her and holds her head in the crook of his neck until she calms down: “why don’t you go back upstairs? I have made breakfast for everyone, I will bring a tray to your bedroom, so that you and Spiro can have your breakfast together”, she sniffles: “thank you, darling”.

  * She takes a basinet, fills it with cold water and adds ice cubes to it. She goes upstairs and takes several towels. She enters their bedroom and finds Spiros asleep. She touches his forehead. He still feels very hot. He opens his eyes. She smiles at him sweetly: “let’s measure your temperature again, love”, she puts the thermometer in his mouth. While she is waiting, she soaks the towels in the cold water. She looks at the thermometer, still in his mouth, the mercury has shot up very quickly: “it’s still very high, 108F (42.2C). I am going to apply cold patches, to lower your temperature”, he smiles at her and speaks weakly: “thank you, love”. She pulls the blankets down and removes his pajamas, leaving him in his underwear. He makes a silly smile: “of all excuses to strip me naked, love…”, she laughs: “this is the worst of all, isn’t it?”, she gives him a tender kiss, then she squeezes water out of the soaked towels and applies them onto his body. He shivers: “it’s cold, Louisa!”, she smiles: “I know…”, and she continues applying cold wet towels to his shivering body, until he is covered. Then she sits by him and waits several minutes. Then she puts the thermometer back in his mouth and waits: “much better, love, the ice water has worked. Your temperature is 101F now, about 38.3C”, Spiros smiles: “thank you, love, I do feel better”, his breathing is still labored and wheezy, but he does look better. Louisa is relieved: “that’s good! I will keep replacing those towels, to keep your fever down. You will get better, my love”, he smiles sweetly. She leans forward and gives him a soft kiss. He returns it happily. Leslie walks in with a full tray. He puts it on a writing desk: “sorry to interrupt, lovebirds, here is your breakfast”, Louisa smiles: “thank you very much darling”, Leslie smiles: “how are you feeling, Spiro?”, he answers with labored breathing but a light tone: “much better, Leslie. Your mother has just chilled my Greek hot blood with ice water”, Leslie laughs: “excellent, you should eat your breakfast, now. It will give you strength and help you feel better”, Louisa smiles: “you should be on your way to work, Leslie”, he nods: “yes, mother, I am leaving now. See you later. When Gerry wakes up, you can let him know his breakfast is ready on the cooker”.
  * For the rest of the day Louisa keeps replacing the wet towels and manages to keep Spiros’ body temperature down. His breathing remains labored, however. It does not improve. If anything, by evening it seems a bit worse. Louisa decides to telephone the Petridis who still live in west London. Florence answers the call: “hello Louisa, what a nice surprise. It’s been a while since we last spoke”, “I know Florence. How are you? Your husband? Your son Adonis?”, “we are all very well, Louisa, how about you and your family?”, “we are good…”, Florence picks up on the hesitation and the tone of voice: “what’s wrong, Louisa? Is anybody ill?”, she starts weeping: “Spiro has pneumonia and our family doctor says 40% of his patients are not surviving it. I am terrified, Florence”, she keeps crying on the phone, “wait a moment Louisa”, Florence puts the phone down and calls her husband. Dr. Petridis talks to Louisa: “describe the symptoms for me, Louisa”, she does, “the fact that you are managing to keep his fever down with ice water is promising. It means the infection is likely not too severe. You need to continue doing that. And ring me in a couple of days for an update”, Louisa seems relieved: “thank you doctor, I will”.

  * For the next two days, she continues putting ice water on Spiros, but the temperature keeps creeping up, regardless. She gives him high doses of aspirin but that helps very little too. She is really worried now. Leslie helps Gerry make supper, then Gerry prepares a tray and brings it upstairs. He speaks lightly, trying to cheer them up: “I’ve made your favorite, Spiro, bifteki with baked potatoes and melitzanosalada. So good that it will cure all of your ailments!”, he puts the tray on the writing desk, “thank you, darling”, she picks up a plate, cuts a small piece of bifteki and moves near Spiros: “open your mouth, love, try Gerry’s bifteki”, he eats it, then: “excellent”, his voice if very weak and his breathing very labored. He can hardly say the word. Gerry looks really worried now. Louisa notices that. She gives another piece of bifteki to Spiros then she gestures to Gerry to follow her. She goes to Gerry’s bedroom and closes the door behind them. Then she breaks down, weeping. Gerry holds her in his arms: “mother, you need to call the doctor again”, she keeps crying: “I have. He came this morning and he said there is little he can do. He said I need to prepare myself for the worst”, Gerry keeps holding her. She is sobbing hard now: “I can’t lose him. I can’t… I can’t… not again…”, “have you talked to Dr. Petridis?”, “I have, a few days ago. He said I should call him back for an update. I will do it tomorrow morning”, “yes mother, you should”. Meanwhile, she has calmed down a bit. She gets up: “I should go back to feed your delicious supper to him while it is still warm. Thanks for making it, Gerry”, as she is leaving the room she looks back and makes a sad smile: “and thanks…”
  * Later, Gerry goes back to his mother’s and Spiros’ bedroom. He finds she is laying on the bed next to him, her eyes closed. Gerry picks up the tray very quietly. Most of the food is still there. She hears him and opens her eyes. Gerry goes near her: “mother, you need to eat and you need to rest. You can’t go on like this. Why don’t you take this downstairs, finish your supper, and lay on the sofa for a bit?”, she looks at Spiros who is sleeping. His breathing still very wheezy and labored: “I can’t. I must stay here, in case he needs me. And I need to replace the towels, to keeps his body temperature down”, Gerry looks at her: “I will do that mother. I will stay here while you take a break. You need it”, she seems hesitant, looking at Spiros with loving eyes: “I can’t leave him, Gerry”, he smiles sweetly: “of course you can. You will be able to help him better if you get some rest, mother. I will be here. I will look after him. I promise”. She reluctantly gets up and goes downstairs. Leslie is happy to see her: “mother, do sit down and eat your supper”, she makes a tired smile: “thank you Leslie”, she eats about half her plate then she lays on the sofa. She is exhausted but she finds it hard to sleep, too worried about Spiros. Leslie sits near her and strokes her cheek until she relaxes enough to close her eyes. She falls asleep.
  * Meanwhile Gerry is replacing the wet towels. Spiros opens his eyes and gestures to him to come closer. He speaks but his voice is very faint. Gerry can’t hear well. He puts his ear near his mouth. Spiros repeats, with broken words and weak voice: “what did the doctor say? What are my chances?”, Gerry looks at him and lies: “pretty good, Spiro, you just need to tough it out”, Spiros raises his arm to quiet him: “tell me the truth, Gerry, don’t lie”, Gerry’s eyes fill with tears: “it’s a very aggressive pneumonia, Spiros, 40% of patients are not surviving it”. Spiros closes his eyes. Gerry feels horrible now and sobs: “I am so sorry, I shouldn’t have told you”, Spiros makes a tired smile: “thanks for telling me Gerry. I wanted to know”. Gerry nods, his face covered in tears, he continues replacing the wet towels. Spiros reaches for his hand and weakly pulls on it. Gerry lowers his head near his mouth again: “if I die…”, “don’t say that Spiro, you won’t!”, he continues with labored breathing: “if I die, promise you look after your mother”, Gerry keeps weeping: “I promise… but don’t you die, Spiro, fight this one. For mother, for all of us…”, he is hugging him, now, crying on his chest: “you are being the father I lost when I was 3, Spiro. Don’t leave us”, Spiros squeezes his hand weakly: “you must be strong, Gerry. For your mother”, then he stops talking, trying to calm his very irregular and labored breathing.
  * Two hours later Louisa wakes up. She jumps up: “Spiro!”, Leslie goes to her: “he is asleep, mother. He needs rest too. Gerry is still with him. His fever is high but stable. We have been replacing the wet towels”, “thank you Leslie, I am so lucky I have such great children”, she wipes her tears and walks back upstairs. Gerry is by Spiros, replacing the last towel, “thank you very much Gerry, you can go to bed now”. He gets up and leaves. He doesn’t say a word, still feeling bad about telling the truth to Spiros. She sits on a chair by the bed. Spiros opens his eyes. He smiles at her sweetly and gestures for her to come near him. She leans towards him and gives him a loving kiss: “I am back, love”, he takes her hands and weakly pulls her towards him. She lays on the bed next to him and puts her head in the crook of his neck, He hugs her and with weak voice: “I love you”, she lifts her head up and looks at him very lovingly: “I love you too”, he lifts his hand and strokes her cheek, then whispers: “you must… be strong…”, she tears up: “I will, to help you”, “you must be strong if I die…”, tears fall down her cheeks: “don’t say that, my love. You won’t”, he continues, still with labored breathing: “I may… I am very ill…”, she cries: “but you will get better, my love”, he makes a tired sweet smile: “if I die… know that I have loved you…”, his voice breaks again. He needs to concentrate on calming his breathing. Louisa is crying hard now. He continues, with broken voice: “…very, very much… I love you… so much, Louisa”, she keeps crying: “I love you with all my heart Spiro. I need you to recover from this”, he is crying too now: “if I don’t… you must be strong… promise…”, she keeps crying, sobbing on his chest. He repeats: “promise…”, she looks at him: “I can’t promise, I can’t!”, “promise, my love…”, she keeps crying: “I can’t, don’t die, please don’t die”. She can’t make the promise he is asking. She knows she won’t be strong. She will fall apart if he doesn’t survive this pneumonia. She gets up and replaces his towels again. Then she lays on the bed next to him: “get some rest now, my love. Tomorrow you will be better”. Spiros continues struggling to breathe properly, but he does fall asleep. His very tired body needs the rest. Louisa remains awake next to him, monitoring his breathing and replacing the towels all night long.

  * The next morning, March 24, 1940, Spiros is not doing any better. His fever is high and his breathing is very labored. Louisa keeps monitoring him and replacing the towels. He reaches for her hand and weakly pulls her near him: “goodbye…”, she is horrified: “what?”, “I won’t live long… I can’t… breathe…”, she begins weeping, he waits a bit until he gets some breathing back: “I must say goodbye… while I can…”, she is sobbing: “don’t… don’t… don’t bloody say that!!!”, she is screaming now. Leslie and Gerry run into the room. She is sobbing on Spiros chest. His breathing is very labored. Worse than yesterday. Leslie runs downstairs and dials the family doctor number. The doctor arrives shortly. He visits Spiros then he walks out of the bedroom. He goes downstairs and has Louisa sit on the sofa. She looks terrified. The doctor takes her hand: “Mrs. Halikiopoulou, you need to prepare to say goodbye to your husband. He may not survive more than a day or two. His lungs are not being able to properly support respiratory functions anymore”. Louisa’s face is covered in tears. She can’t speak. Gerry is crying too. Leslie speaks with teary voice: “but there must be something you can do doctor!”, “I am sorry, there is nothing more I can do”. The doctor gets up and leaves.
  * Leslie dials the Petridis number. Louisa grabs the phone. Florence picks up. Louisa sobs desperately: “the doctor says he may not survive until tomorrow! If I lose Spiros I won’t live. This time I won’t be able to cope. I can’t live through that horrible grief again. I will kill myself…”. Leslie grabs the phone from his mother: “sorry for the early hour, Florence, but Spiro is doing very badly”, she calls her husband. Leslie describes Spiros’ conditions: “this does not sound good at all, Leslie. Your doctor needs to prescribe sulfa drugs”, meanwhile Louisa is listening into the phone, next to Leslie. She grabs it: “what drugs?’, the doctor repeats: “sulfa, sulfonamide derivatives. They are very new and they can be very effective with bacterial infections. I have administered them to several patients with the current strain of pneumonia. I had excellent results. Spiros needs to be put on them as soon as possible”, Louisa replies: “thank you so much, doctor. I will call our family doctor immediately”. She closes the conversation and dials the family doctor’s number. The doctor has just returned to his office: “Mrs. Halikiopoulou, I know about those drugs but I don’t have access to them. They are not available in Bournemouth. I am very sorry…”.
  * Louisa rings Florence again. “Louisa, I was just about to ring you. I have good news. My husband has managed to obtain several doses of sulfa drugs from the dispensary in London. I have them here. He has also written instructions with the administration regimen”, Louisa weeps: “oh my God, thank you so much, Florence, I will take the first train to come and get them”, Leslie is listening to the conversation. He approaches and talks near the phone so that Florence can hear him too: “I will drive there to pick the meds up, mother. It will save lots of time and you can stay here and be with Spiro”, Louisa looks at him: “but you can’t. The petrol coupons we have are not sufficient to drive to London and back”, “I know mother, but we have been saving petrol. We have enough stored in the shed to go to west London and back”, then he turns to the phone: “Florence, I will be there in about 3 hours, hopefully less”, “excellent, Leslie, I will be waiting for you”. Still crying, Louisa goes back to their bedroom, to replace the towels. She puts ice directly on them, to keep Spiros’ temperature down as much as possible, then she sits by him, her hand holding his: “hang in there, my love, the new sulfa drugs will be here soon”, he slowly opens his eyes and tries to talk but his breathing is very labored, she gives him a loving kiss: “don’t talk my love, concentrate on keeping your breathing steady”, he smiles at her and weakly squeezes her hand.

  * Five hours later Leslie returns with a box containing several vials and pills of sulfa drugs. He hands them to Louisa: “the doctor says you should begin with an aggressive protocol, with intramuscular injections every two hours, then you can shift to the pills, three times per day”, Louisa is reading the instructions: “thank you, Leslie. He also says he needs to drink large amounts of water, to prevent side effects to the kidneys”. She boils the glass syringe in its metal container, then she prepares the first injection and walks upstairs: “turn around, my love, I need to give you an injection”, with Leslie’s help, he slowly moves on his side, she pulls his underwear down, cleans the top of his buttock with alcohol, then gives him the first injection, pushing on the plunger slowly, to allow the medication to diffuse from the site of injection. Then she walks around the bed, and looks at Spiros in the face. She kneels by the bed and kisses him: “this will make you better, my love”, he makes a very weak smile, struggling to breath. He whispers something. She puts her ear next to his mouth and catches a very faint: “I love you”, tears immediately come to her eyes. She kisses him again and whispers: “I love you too…”, he makes a weak smile. She strokes his face for a while, then she gets up and helps him lay on his back. Then she helps his head up and puts a glass by his mouth: “you need to drink, love, to protect your kidneys”, he slowly drinks the water, then he lays back against the pillow. Exhausted. She smiles at him sweetly: “try to rest now, my love. Hopefully the sulfa drugs will begin to have their effect soon”. Still crying, she busies herself to replace the wet towels with fresh ones, after dipping them in iced water. Leslie is standing at the door, watching. She sees him and walks up to her son. She leans onto his shoulder and continues to cry: “thank you so much, Leslie”, he hugs his mother: “he will get better, mother, don’t cry…”. He hugs her tightly and holds her while she soaks his shirt with her tears.
  * Two hours later Louisa gives Spiros another injection and a large glass of water. She continues giving injections every 2 hours and replacing the wet towels until the following morning. She is laying on the bed next to him, still wearing her clothes, listening to his labored breathing, hoping it gets better. At 5AM of March 25, 1940, she gives him another injection then she lays down by him and falls asleep, completely exhausted. She suddenly wakes up 2 hours later. She listens to the silence in the room and she panics. She can’t hear Spiros’ labored breathing! She lifts herself up, shaking very badly. She looks at him, terrified of what she will find. Then she starts weeping. His chest is moving up and down. His face is much more relaxed and his breathing much improved. She is overcome with relief. She cries, and cries, and cries… her tears soaking her pillow case. She keeps weeping until he wakes up, looks at her, and smiles: “kalimera, agapi mou”. His voice is still weak and his breathing is still wheezy, but he is clearly doing much better. She looks at him in disbelief. He is back! She leans towards his lips and gives him a loving kiss: “kalimera, agapi mou”. She keeps sobbing. She can’t help it. He moves his weak arms around her in a loving embrace: “don’t cry, my love, I am here”. They stay that way for a while, hugging lovingly. Then she lifts her head up: “oh, I must give you your next injection!”, she gets up and runs to the kitchen to boil the glass syringe.

(trnsl: good morning, my love)

  * Leslie and Gerry are up, having breakfast. They see her running and fear the worst. Gerry asks: “mother, why are you running?” she makes a big happy smile: “time for Spiro’s next poke”, Gerry and Leslie look at each other, baffled. She laughs: “I have not gone mad. Spiro is doing much better this morning!”. Gerry and Leslie get up and hug her, happy. After the injection, Leslie and Gerry go to the bedroom to cheer with Spiros about his improved conditions. Meanwhile Louisa calls the Petridis. She cries on the phone: “he is better, he is better!”, the doctor sounds very happy. He makes her describe his conditions: “excellent news, Louisa, he does sound very improved. Make sure you continue with the current administration protocol, though. Don’t ease that yet. Then, you should call your family doctor. I’d like to talk to him after he visits Spiro”, “I will, doctor, thank you so much!”.
  * Over the next few days, Spiros’ conditions continue to improve. The family doctor comes by every day, visits Spiros, then consults with Dr. Petridis on the phone. After a few days, the family doctor confirms the improved conditions and in agreement with Dr. Petridis, shifts Spiros to the sulfa pills, which he must continue to take for at least 10 more days. Spiros continues to improve. His fever becomes manageable with aspirin, and his breathing less labored. He can now sit up and slowly walk around the house. They are all elated.

  * Adding to the good news, one day Gerry bursts into the house, with a big happy smile and a letter in his hand: “Theo is in London!”, Louisa and Spiros are sitting on the sofa, reading books. She smiles: “is he on leave?”, “yes, he will be in England for almost a month!”, Spiros smiles: “excellent news. Will he be visiting us?”, Gerry makes a big happy smile: “he will! He says he can come with Alexia’ and Maria on Friday and stay for the weekend!”, Louisa smiles: “excellent! You will need to sleep in the spare bed in Leslie’s bedroom so that Alexia’ can have her own bedroom. Theo and Maria can stay in the guest room”, “of course, mother, I am happy to do that. I will set up the spare bed later, when Leslie returns from work. It’s a two-person job”, Spiros gets up: “I can help”, she grabs his hand: “no such a thing, love. You need to rest”, he looks very annoyed. She smiles sweetly, but speaks with stern voice: “doctor’s orders and after the scare you gave me I will make bloody sure you follow them!”, he sits down next to her and gives her a long kiss: “it seems I have no choice, do I?”, she smiles and returns the kiss: “none whatsoever”, he smirks: “then, I will need to keep up with my sedentary sofa activities”, he hugs her tightly and gives her a long kiss. Gerry laughs and goes to the back garden to tend to his animals whose number seems to keep increasing.
  * Meanwhile Spiros and Louisa continue kissing. He gently opens her mouth with his tongue and begins kissing her more sensually. Then he reaches for her breasts under her shirt and gently pinches her nipples. She moans, but then she grabs his hand and stops it: “behave love, you’ve heard what the doctor has said about overexerting yourself”, he makes a pouting face: “darn pneumonia…”, she laughs: “patience, my love, you need patience”, she thinks for a bit, then she continues: “it must be the reason for people who are not well are called ‘patients’, they need to exercise patience…”, he gives her another kiss and mumbles in her mouth: “yea, more patience than I have”, he keeps touching her. She scolds him with stern voice: “enough now, my love, behave”, then she laughs: “those who care for and care about those patients need lots of patience too”, they both laugh while she gets up, goes to the kitchen, and makes tea.

  * Spiros continues doing very well for several days. Now that he is feeling better, they venture outside for a follow-up visit with their family doctor: “I am happy your friend Dr. Petridis was able to get you those sulfa drugs, Mr. Halikiopoulos. You are doing very well. I can only hear a faint wheeze in your breathing. You still need to be careful, though. You need to rest and avoid crowded places. There have been reports of patients who have relapsed after their initial recovery from this strain of bacterial pneumonia”, Louisa looks worried now: “relapsed?”, Spiros takes her hand: “don’t worry, love. I am feeling good”, she makes a tight smile: “you’d better. I can’t take that scare you gave me again”, he smiles sweetly: “let’s go home, then, so that I can rest and you can stop worrying”.
  * A few days later, it is evening. They are in the living room listening to the BBC on the wireless, when Spiros begins coughing. The same cough he had when his symptoms of pneumonia first appeared. Louisa looks at him very worried: “tomorrow we are going back to the doctor. I want him to look into this cough”, he squeezes her hand and gives her a kiss: “as you wish, love”. Later, they are in bed. She is cuddled against him. He is holding her in his arms. She relaxes on his chest. Then she lifts her head up and looks at him: “how are you feeling love? I can hear you wheezing again”, he makes a stretched smile: “not too well, actually. My breathing is getting tight again”. She moves off his chest: “better now? Maybe I was leaning on you too hard”, he smiles: “yes, better. Let’s sleep now. Maybe I just need some rest”, she looks at him with worried eyes. He gives her a loving kiss: “kalinychta agapi mou” she kisses him back: “kalinychta, my love. Have sweet dreams”.

(trnsl: kalinychta = goodnight; agapi mou = my love)

  * Overnight Louisa wakes up suddenly. Spiros’ breathing is quite labored again. She touches him and she is horrified to find that he is very hot. His fever is back and his symptoms are back. This time she does not wait. She removes his pajamas, covers him with towels dunked into ice water, and gives him several tablets of aspirin. That reduces his fever somewhat. The next morning, she immediately calls Dr. Petridis: “he is still fairly well. His breathing is regular, but rather labored and wheezy”, Dr. Petridis is worried now: “if this is a relapse of the same bacteria it may be bad news, I am afraid. Patients with relapse do not respond well to the sulfa drugs”, Louisa is crying. The doctor continues: “put him back on the sulfa drugs immediately. Meanwhile I will ask my colleagues for possible alternatives”. He closes the phone line, looking very worried. He looks at his wife: “this is very bad news. None of my patients who have relapsed have responded to the sulfa drugs. They all developed severe pneumonia symptoms very quickly and they have all died. I must tell Louisa. I will ring her tomorrow. Gosh, this will be so hard…”, Florence brings her hands up to her face and starts weeping: “oh my God, Louisa will be devastated. We need to go to Bournemouth to tell her in person. We can’t just break such news on the telephone. She is our friend and she is going to have to face very difficult times. We need to be near her”. Her husband hugs her: “I can’t go. I need to stay for my medical practice. But you should go”, Florence nods: “I will buy the train ticket tomorrow. I can get there on Friday and tell her the awful news”. They sit quietly, very sad.
  * Meanwhile Louisa uses the vials she still has to begin the sulfa drug injections again. Initially, Spiros seems to be doing fine, but his symptoms worsen, more rapidly than the first time. Within two days he is bedridden again. She is panicked, crying on the sofa while Gerry and Leslie are at a loss. They don’t know what to do for their mother. In that moment the phone rings. Gerry answers: “Theo? It’s nice to hear your voice…”, “Gerry, you sound sad, what’s going on?”, Gerry begins crying: “we are all very worried. Spiro’s pneumonia has relapsed and Dr. Petridis says the sulfa drugs don’t work as well the second time”, “that is very true, Gerry, but there is another option. Let me make a few telephone calls. I will ring back later today. Don’t despair yet. There is hope”. Gerry reports Theo’s words to his mother. Then they all sit on the sofa, anxiously waiting for his call. About an hour later the phone rings. Louisa runs and answers with shaky voice: “hello…”, Theo’s voice is cheerful: “Louisa, I have good news. At the army we have a new medication that is being very effective against infections, even in cases when the sulfa drugs don’t work. It’s called penicillin and it has saved the lives of many soldiers on the battle fields. At the moment it is not available for the general public. It is only in military hospital. But because I am an army doctor I was able to obtain enough vials for a full course of treatment. I will bring it with me when we come for our visit tomorrow”, Louisa is very relieved: “thank you so much, Theo!”, she is crying again. Theo closes the conversation: “don’t cry, Louisa. Penicillin is a much better antibacterial medication then sulfa drugs. It is proving a true medical revolution. There is still hope. I will see you tomorrow”.

  * The next day Leslie goes to the train station to collect the Stephanides. He is surprised when Florence gets off the same train, “I am here to be with your mother at these difficult times. My husband says there are very little hopes Spiro will recover. I came to tell her in person and to be by her”, Theo smiles: “this is very thoughtful of you, Florence, but I am hopeful your visit can become one for celebration instead of mourning”, as Leslie drives them back to their house, Theo explains all about penicillin: “it was recently discovered by Alexander Fleming at St. Mary’s Hospital in London and the British army is secretly producing and pilot testing it on wounded soldiers with severe infections. The results are being astonishing. I have witnessed them personally. And recent tests have shown it is also effective against _Streptococcus pneumoniae_”. At the house, Louisa is upstairs tending to Spiros. Gerry is waiting for their guests. He is already boiling the metal box with the glass syringe so that it is ready as soon as Theo arrives with penicillin. Theo prepares the syringe and gives the injection to Spiros: “this will hurt a bit. Penicillin causes a strong burning sensation and leaves the part sore for a while, but it is worth it, Spiro”, he looks at the doctor and replies with very labored and wheezy voice: “efcharisto’ giatro’…”, Theo smiles: “parakalo, file mou. Xekourasteite tora, tha ise kalytera”. Louisa is watching: “yes, thank you so much, Theo”, then she approaches him and hugs him: “and welcome to our home, let me show you to your rooms”.

(trnl: thank you doctor; you are welcome, my friend. Rest now, you will be better)

  * In that moment Florence appears at the bedroom door. Louisa is very surprised to see her. She smiles at first, but then she suddenly guesses the reason. She walks outside of her and Spiro’s bedroom taking Florence with her: “Florence, why are you here?”, her voice is shaky, her eyes teary. Florence hugs her: “before I met Theo at the train station, I was here for the worst of reasons. But now I hope I am here to celebrate Spiros’ recovery”, Louisa is crying: “…the worst of reasons…?”, Florence hugs her again: “my husband says that none of his patients have survived a relapse of the current strain of pneumonia, even with high doses of sulfa drugs. I came to tell you in person and to be near you at these difficult times”, Louisa is weeping. Florence keeps hugging her: “don’t cry, my friend, Theo says penicillin is much more effective than the sulfa drugs, even against pneumonia”, Louisa looks at her friend, her face covered in tears: “thank you for being here, Florence. This is being very difficult. I can’t even think what I will do if Spiro dies…”, she is sobbing in her arms again. Theo has been watching all along: “Louisa, I can’t give you promises, but I can give you hope. The effects I have seen with penicillin since we began using it in the army are nothing short of a miracle. The chances that Spiro will respond to penicillin are very high”, Louisa approaches him and hugs him, still crying. He holds her on his chest until she calms down. Then she lifts her head up: “thank you so much, Theo. You are such a good friend”, then she notices Maria and Alexia’, standing at the top of the stairs. She lets go of Theo’s embrace and smiles at them: “welcome to our home. Here are your bedrooms. She shows Alexia’ to Gerry’s room and Maria and Theo to the guest room. Then she turns to Florence: “we can add a spare bed to Alexia’s room, if the two of you don’t mind sharing”, Florence and Alexia’ smile: “of course we don’t mind!”. Leslie and Gerry hear that, go to the shed to get the stored spare bed and assemble it in Gerry’s bedroom.
  * That evening Gerry makes dinner for everybody. He has always liked cooking and he has been learning more and more recipes from his mother and Spiros. Today he makes Indian food. Leslie serves it to their guests, then he prepares a tray with two plates: “this is for mother and Spiro. She won’t join us. She spends hardly any time away from Spiro now that he is ill”, Florence smiles sweetly: “of course, that is understandable, Leslie. Don’t worry about us. I am happy to help, actually”, she gets up and takes the tray. She brings it upstairs. Louisa has just replaced the wet towels on Spiros and is now laying on the bed next to him, holding his hand. Resting. Florence walks in quietly, puts the tray on the writing desk, then she approaches the bed. Louisa opens her eyes and whispers: “Florence… thank you…”, her voice is tired. She gets up quietly. Spiros is awake too. He turns his head towards Florence, smiles, then speaks with very weak voice: “hi…”. Louisa smiles: “love, Florence has brought us supper”, Florence nods: “yes, Gerry has made some delicious Indian curries. I hope you will like them”. Spiros smiles, but he says nothing. Speaking with that labored breathing is difficult. Louisa picks up a plate and brings it near him. She places pillows behind him to support him up, then she begins feeding him. He smiles and wheezes: “this is good”, Florence smiles too: “told you! Make sure you clear that plate, Spiro. You need energy to fight the infection”, then she leaves them to their supper and goes back downstairs.
  * Later, Theo gives Spiro another injection and visits him: “your breathing has improved a bit, Spiro and your temperature is not as high. Those are very good signs. You should sleep now, my friend. You need the rest”, then he turns to Louisa: “and so do you. You won’t be able to help Spiro if you are exhausted yourself. Do try to sleep, Louisa. He really is doing better”, she nods: “I will try, thank you, Theo”. After Theo leaves she decides to change into her pajamas, for the first time in days, since Spiros’ relapse. She lays in bed next to Spiros. She gives him a tender kiss and leans her head in the crook of his neck. He raises his weak arm and puts it around her, then he speaks with weak voice: “good night my love”, she raises her head and kisses him again: “kalinychta agapi mou*”. They both fall asleep. Louisa wakes up several hours later and immediately worries about having missed to replace the wet towels. She slowly raises her head to avoid waking him and looks at Spiros. His face is relaxed. His breathing very improved. She gently touches his face. It is much cooler. His fever is clearly very improved too. She decides to not replace the wet towels and to allow him to continue sleeping without disruption. She leans with her head in the crook of his neck again. For a long time, she can’t go back to sleep, though. She is still too worried. She just lays in his embrace, awake, feeling much more hopeful than before. Eventually she does fall asleep, the exhaustion of the past several days catching up on her.

(*trnsl: good night my love)

  * The next morning the others gather in the kitchen. Florence and Maria take the lead and prepare breakfast for everyone. Maria announces: “the tray for Louisa and Spiro is ready”, Gerry smiles: “thank you, Maria. All is still quiet upstairs. Mother is usually awake very early, if not all night. This delay is unusual”, Leslie adds: “I hope it’s a sign that Spiro is doing better and they are catching up on their sleep”, Theo smiles: “that’s very likely. He was already doing better after his first injection. I have every reason to expect further improvement after the second dose. Penicillin acts very rapidly. I will prepare the syringe for his third injection, then we can bring it upstairs together with their breakfast”. Once the syringe is ready, Theo and Maria go upstairs. She carries the tray. They slowly and quietly open the door to their bedroom. Spiros and Louisa are still laying hugging. She wakes up and lifts her head to check in on Spiros. He is awake, breathing quietly and much more freely than before. He looks at her lovingly: “kalimera agapi mou*”, she sounds surprised: “oh, you are awake. Why didn’t you tell me, love? I need to replace your towels”, he smiles sweetly, then he speaks. His voice is still weak, but much stronger than before: “I did not want to wake you, my love. You were very tired last night. And I am feeling much better. I am sure my temperature is not very high now”, she gives him a soft kiss: “that is such great news, love”, he returns the kiss, then winks: “behave, my love, we are being watched…”.

(*trnsl: good morning my love)

  * She turns her head and only then realizes that Theo and Maria are standing at the door. Theo smiles: “sorry to intrude, lovers. I am here for Spiro’s injection”, Maria adds: “and food!”, she puts the tray on the writing desk and approaches the bed: “I am so happy to see you doing so much better, Spiro”, Theo is also smiling: “I am happy too. So much so that I now want you to bare your bum”, they all laugh. Maria discretely leaves the room. Louisa helps Spiros turn in the bed and pulls his underwear down for the doctor to administer the penicillin. Spiros moans: “gosh, my bum must look like a colander by now, with all of these pokes”, Louisa looks at his bruised buttocks and smiles: “it’s for your own good, love”, Theo laughs: “I will leave you two to your breakfast now. I can visit you later, Spiro. You do look much better this morning”. As soon as Theo leaves, Louisa leans towards Spiros and whispers: “it may be a colander but it still is a very nice-looking bum, love”, he laughs, reaches forward and gives her a loving kiss, then he reaches for her breasts under her pajamas: “mmm, these are very nice-looking too. I so miss being sinful with you, my love…”. She giggles: “behave, love, you must recover before we can even think about that!”, she kisses him again and whispers: “…but I do miss that too…”, then she gets up, dresses, and picks up the tray: “let’s eat now, my Greek tempter”.

  * For the rest of Saturday Spiros continues showing clear signs of improvements. Theo gives him more doses of penicillin and visits him a few times. He is auscultating his chest: “still wheezy but definitely much better”, Louisa looks very relieved: “such great news, thank you Theo”, he smiles: “just keep resting, Spiro. It will help fighting off the infection. Meanwhile I am expected downstairs for the tour”, Louisa makes a quizzical look. Theo laughs: “apparently there is a whole zoo for me to visit in your garden”, Louisa and Spiros laugh. Louisa smiles: “well, you didn’t expect Gerry to change, did you?”, Theo laughs: “not really”, Spiros laughs too: “your fault, Theo. You initiated him”, Theo chuckles: “oh he was very fertile ground for my seeds to germinate”, then he looks out of the window: “those cages look very nicely made”, Spiros smiles proudly: “I helped him build them before I became ill”, Theo laughs: “your fault too, then, if he has a zoo now”. They all laugh. Theo leaves and goes downstairs.
  * On Sunday Theo administers more doses of penicillin and Spiros’ conditions keep improving very rapidly. His breathing is still labored but much better. His fever becomes manageable with aspirin and they can stop using cold wet towels. By mid-afternoon: “I feel like getting up, love. Can you help me, please?”, Louisa looks worried and calls Theo: “Spiro wants to get up, can he?”, Theo visits Spiros again: “you still have a wheeze but it is improving rapidly. Today we are returning to London. I will leave the vials for the continuation of the therapy. It is important that you complete the full treatment, even if in a day or two you will likely feel so well that you’ll think you no longer need it. Completing the treatment is essential to prevent further relapse”, Louisa pales at the sound of the word relapse: “don’t worry, Theo, I will make sure he completes the therapy”, Spiros smiles: “yes, I will, Theo. I most certainly don’t need another relapse… what do you think, can I get up now?”, Theo smiles: “if you feel like it, you can try. Do it slowly and carefully, though. You may feel weak and dizzy after so many days of severe illness”, Spiros looks at Louisa very sweetly: “I will be careful, Theo. My beloved worrier here will make sure I am”. She smiles and gives him a kiss: “you can bet on that, love”. Theo smiles: “well, we should finish up our packing. The evening train to London is in 3 hours”, then he leaves and goes downstairs.
  * Meanwhile Spiros does manage to get up and, with Louisa’s help, slowly walks downstairs. When he appears, everybody cheers to the rapid improvement of his health. He sits on the sofa with a light blanket, while Louisa and Florence make tea. They all have tea together, eating the few sweets they manage to bake with wartime sugar restrictions in place. Theo gives his last instructions before they return to London: “you will need to take things very easy, Spiro, and to be very patient. The bacterial infection will leave scar tissue in your lungs. It will take time and lots of exercise to recover normal lung function and breathing”, Spiros looks worried: “how long?”, Theo looks at him with frank eyes: “it depends on the degree of damage. Because you have had severe pneumonia twice within a short time, you will likely need a prolonged recovery period. It may be months. Even years”, Spiros groans. Louisa looks at him sweetly: “patience will be the essence, love. You can do it… we will do it together…”, Theo continues: “once you are done with the full penicillin treatment you need to talk to you family doctor. He will give you a list of exercises you can do to help regain lung functions”. Spiros looks at Louisa naughtily and gently strokes her lips with his thumb: “a list of exercises, eh? I can think of a few myself…”, then he sensually kisses her neck, leaving a very visible red love mark. She blushes and swats him: “Spiro!”. They all laugh, then Theo makes a serious face: “that kind of ‘exercise’ can actually help at some point, but not for a while. And I am not joking, now. I am talking as your doctor, Spiro. For now, you need to avoid strenuous activity”, Spiros makes a pouting face: “fine, fine, I get it, Theo…”, they all smile.

  * Theo becomes rather serious: “next week I am going back to Thessaloniki and in June I will be posted to Cyprus. I don’t know how long I will be away this time. There is something important I wanted to discuss before I return to my deployment”, he looks at Louisa, Spiros, and her children: “I am worried that London may become a target for German attacks”, he looks sad now: “I am scared our house in London’s city center may be hit by bombs”, Louisa looks at Maria and Alexia’: “oh my God, you can’t risk that!” You must come and stay here!”, Maria replies: “that would be such an impositi…”, Theo interrupts her: “thank you so much, Louisa! We have no close family here in England and no one else but you I’d feel comfortable imposing. I’d be so less worried knowing my family is safely here with you”, Spiros smiles: “of course, Theo. It is no imposition at all!”, Maria looks perplexed. Louisa can see that: “it will be an opportunity to catch up and talk about the good old times in Greece. And our children will be able to resume the beautiful friendship they had on Corfu”, Theo grabs his wife’s hand: “please, my love, give me this peace of mind…”, she looks at him sweetly: “all right… if things get worse in London we will come here”, he gives her a kiss: “thank you!”, then he turns towards Louisa and Spiros: “and thank you!”, they all smile, then Louisa looks at Florence: “this applies even to you and your family. If you need a place to stay…”, Florence smiles: “thank you for your offer, Louisa, but our house in west London is unlikely to be involved in attacks. It is not in the city center and it is far from any military targets. And in case we need to, we have already arranged to move in with my relatives, who live in the country”, Louisa smiles: “I am happy you have plans that will keep you safe”.
  * Later, Leslie drives their guests to the train station. As they are leaving the house, Louisa hugs Theo: “I will never be able to thank you enough. By saving Spiros’ life you have saved mine too”, then she looks at them all, her eyes stopping on each of them: “I feel so lucky to have such good friends”, she is clearly moved now. Her friends all approach and hug her.
  * After their guests leave, Louisa returns to the living room and sits on the sofa next to Spiros. She leans her head on his shoulder and lets out a content sigh. He turns towards her and gives her a soft kiss. She smiles sweetly: “I love you”, “I love you too”. He wraps his arms around her. She leans on him. They sit quietly in their loving embrace.

THE END

**First Post Scriptum**

  * We leave Louisa and Spiros here, in Bournemouth for the remainder of the war.
  * Over the next several months Spiros’ health improved steadily until he was able to return to work.
  * We can imagine them living the rest of their lives always happily together.
  * After the end of the war, we can imagine them spending their Summers in England, close to her and his children, pouring love onto their grandchildren.
  * We can also imagine them spending the winter months in Corfu, in the warmer climate.
  * I can also imagine them taking a trip to India together at some point.
  * And we know that wherever they went, whatever they did, they remained as in love as ever and scandalized the conservative society of their time with their displays of affection. 😀 

**Second Post Scriptum**

  * Louisa Durrell died on 24 January 1964, eight days after her 78th birthday, having suffered a massive heart attack a few days earlier. I picture Spiros being by her side, comforting her to the end, then laying down next to her and dying too, not being able to be parted from her.
  * In actuality Spiros died of pneumonia in Corfu on 25 March 1940. Less than a year after the Durrells had left the island. I couldn’t let that happen in my story. Thanks to sulfa drugs (first remission, achieved on 25 March 1940, NOT coincidentally) and penicillin (full recovery), we can have Spiros and Louisa live happily ever after. 😀
  * A historic note: sulfa drugs were an early precursor of antibiotics and were available in England during World War II. The first antibiotic, penicillin, instead, was discovered in 1928 but was not mass produced and brought to the general public for several years. During WWII it was, indeed, used by the British army. However, that was not for a couple of years after Spiros needed it. So, I have gently ‘massaged’ the historic facts for this story. 😀 

**Third Post Scriptum **

  * Below, how each family member waded through the war (historic facts).
  * Leslie continued working at the RAF factory.
  * Gerry found several jobs in pet shops and after he turned 18 he did his war effort on farms where he could put his skills with animals into practice.
  * Margot and Jack remained in Africa until the end of the war. While there, they had two children, Gerald and Nicholas.
  * Larry, Nancy, and their baby daughter Penelope left Athens and moved to Kalamata. When the mainland became too dangerous, they moved to Crete. In April 1941, 2 days before the Nazi completed the occupation of Greece, they rented a boat and escaped to Alexandria, Egypt, where they remained ‘till the end of the war.

**Fourth Post Scriptum**

  * Below, a few more historic facts and how tey affected the Durrells.
  * On 7 September, 1940, German air raids of London begun. Over the next few months they extended also to other major English cities. Mary and Alexia’ Stephanides stayed with the Durrells in Bournemouth for the duration of the England bombing (Sept 1940 - May 1941).
  * Bournemouth was bombed too, earlier than London, the first raids being on July 3rd, 1940. Bournemouth was a target because of its location, right across from the French coast, and because it became a recovering center for wounded servicemen and a Personnel Reception Centre for RAF and other Allied countries, e.g. Canada, Australia. As such, it was a military target. Strategically, killing the aircrews was more effective than destroying the war bombers themselves.
  * There were 51 air raids, for a total of 2,271 bombs onto Bournemouth over WWII, causing up to 350 civilians and servicemen deaths. This was much less than other English cities suffered (and certainly way less bad than the rest of Europe), but surely Bournemouth was not spared by the war. So, Louisa, Leslie, and Gerry Durrell, and Mary and Alexia’ Stephanides must have had their share of scare. Some of the bombing happened in the Queen’s Park and Springbourne areas, close to St. Alban’s Ave, where they lived.
  * World War 2 was very disruptive for Corfu. The island was occupied by the Italians first (1941-1943), then by the Germans (1943-1944). Corfu was bombed multiple times. The worst were by joint Italian and German forces in Nov 1940 and by the Germans when they took it from the Italians in Sept 1943 (after the fall of fascism in Italy, for fear that the British would get it). Corfu town was almost completely destroyed and thousands of people were killed either by the bombs or starvation. About 2,000 Jews from Corfu were sent to Auschwitz. Several friends of the Durrell family died under the bombs. Among them: Theo’s parents, Gerry’s tutor Mr. Kralefsky, and Spiros’ parents. Spiros’ car was damaged by the bombs. Only the engine was salvageable and sold by his son Mihalis after the war.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A couple of acknowledgements/credit recognition to the TV series. The "take us to heaven... you know the way" and "peculiar children" are from it. Obviously...😀
> 
> To those of you who have made it to the end, thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed my story. I wrote it to make darn sure Louisa and Spiros could be together despite all odds (his marriage, the war, Spiros' death). 😍❤️💕💖
> 
> When the 3rd season ended with that almost kiss and the dramatic separation I was rather upset. 290,078 words later, I am mildly satisfied that they can now be together, forever... 😋
> 
> Then season 4 aired and, while there was some progress with their relationship, they were parted by the war! That is quite unacceptable. So I have decided to write a short (much shorter, I promise, only 4 brief chapters) story to 'fix' even that. I will post it soon. If you have enjoyed this, stay tuned... 😀


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